Attachment
by Cigamina
Summary: "I've realized for myself that sometimes… it needs submission to gain freedom." The boy didn't respond to that, all he got was a long, contemplating stare – and he got the feeling that it was exactly what he wanted to get. Irvin's and Levi's story told from the very beginning.
1. Chapter 1

Attachment

Author: Cigamina

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin

Protagonists: Irvin Smith and Levi are the main focus

Part: 1/?

Warnings: violence , foul language

Rating: will be M

Disclaimer: Characters unfortunately aren't mine, therefore no money-making~ XDDD

Notes: Not too much yet, story starts 10 years before the plot in the anime/manga evolves, in year is going to be VERY long. XD

Also, I'm not quite sure about Irvin's and Levi's age so I picked ages that seemed appropriate to my. So much for writer's liberties! 8D

Please forgive me for making so many mistakes, English is not my native language and I'm sure you will find plenty of mistakes in there! _

Songs I heard while writing the chapter:

Music Instructor – Rock your body (Brainbug Remix)

Schiller – Schiller

Attachment– Chapter 1

„Would you like another cup of tea?"

He looked up and smiled at the young woman who had just asked him that question for the third time that evening. When he glanced over at the artfully crafted clock that was attached to the wall he learned that the evening had passed on quite a lot, it being past eleven already. He raised a hand to put the cup he had been using for the past few hours onto the plate he had eaten pastries from, making it easier for him to carry the used dishes to the kitchen in a few minutes.

"Thank you, Bethy, but I wouldn't want to draw upon your time too much. It's quite late already, you must be exhausted. I'm sorry to have kept you up for so long."

The blond woman laughed softly and returned his smile, shooing away his hands when he wanted to gather the plate to take them to the kitchen.

"Ahh no no, I'm wide awake, and don't bother, Irvin, I'll do that late! Don't worry, I love you being here and I enjoy every minute of your company. It's a much too rare occasion anyway…"

He looked at her affectionately and debated with himself for a few seconds but then decided that it might not hurt to stay a little longer. He enjoyed being here probably as much as she did, but he didn't want to exhaust her. But she was right, it wasn't that they got the chance to sit together and chat too often. Being a soldier came with some terms, and one was that they were to move about a lot, never staying in one place for long. If you were a part of the Scouting Legion, that is. Being part of the Stationary Guard or the Military Police even guaranteed a more stable lifestyle – the latter a rather secure one, on top. The Scouting Legion, however… they were on the move mostly, carrying out missions and planning them in advance, training. It was a rare occasion that they returned to anyone's home but it was his luck that they had business to attend here in Hermiha district, the part of the walled city Irvin had his origins in. Usually they were stationed around Karanese district, one of the outermost cities attached to wall Maria – because that's where they could head outside of the safety of the walls to meet their enemy.

Irvin smiled again when the young woman poured him another cup of her scented vanilla tea which was actually also one of his favourites. While he didn't get to have tea very often when he was at their headquarters or on the move even he enjoyed drinking it every time he could – and Elisabeth certainly knew about it. Although the latest events might have changed some things in his daily routine that he still had to get used to.

"Thank you, Bethy." He patted her hand after she had put a little bit of lemon into his tea, just the way he liked it, and took to holding her hand for a little while. The woman that was three years his younger beamed and squeezed his calloused hand, moved her head to the side a little.

"You're always welcome, Irvin." Also throwing a quick glance at the clock she looked at him curiously, her cerulean eyes shining ever so beautifully below her dark lashes. She really had inherited her mother's eyes – just as Irvin did.

"I'll hazard a guess that you don't have a precise hour to limit your returning anymore? I mean… as the corporal of the Scouting legion."

He smiled and nodded, using his free hand to put his spoon into his cup, mixing the lemon with the vanilla-tea.

"I daresay you're right. I have a few more liberties now – and tons of new obligations."

Not that he complained, not at all. It was an honor to have been chosen as the new corporal. Even though the occasion was not a happy one – their commander had died of a severe illness a few weeks ago, causing his former corporal to be made the new commander. And now-commander Dallis Zacklay had appointed Irvin his new corporal.

"I'm still a little astounded about it all."

He had genuinely been surprised even though he knew that Zacklay was quite fond of him. Irvin had been squad leader for a while now and he appeared to have done well so far, making him eligible for being made corporal.

Bethy made a lightly disapproving sound and then laughed, looking at him warmly.

"Don't be modest, Irvin. You've always been brilliant in the military… having been first in your trainee squad, squad leader shortly after that… they've certainly made the right choice."

He couldn't help but feel warmth spread in his chest upon hearing her words. Bethy had always been supportive to what he was doing, no matter what it was, as long as she knew that it was what Irvin wanted. And he could honestly say that yes, this was what he wanted. He did have the luxury of choosing whichever part of the military he wanted to join; and he hadn't hesitated. It had always been the Recon Corps – neither did he see any sense in hiding inside of wall Sina as part of the Military Police nor did he want to spend his life repairing the walls, patrolling them and upholding peace and quiet in the cities as a part of the Stationary Guard. No – he couldn't live a quiet life KNOWING what was outside of wall Maria. They ALL knew –the majority of the people just didn't WANT to think about it. Irvin did, had done so from the very first day he had learned that they were caged up in those cities, imprisoned by the gigantic walls protecting them. That there was a whole WORLD outside of the walls –they just couldn't access it. Because it was populated by monsters; gigantic monsters that had already driven mankind to the rim of extinction by devouring every one of them each time they came across human beings. The titans.

They were the reason why mankind had caged itself up by building huge walls that had protected them from the titans for the last century – and they were the reason why Irvin had chosen to be part of the Scouting Legion: because they fought the titans; they went outside wall Maria to learn about the titans, to find their weaknesses, to kill some of them. Irvin had decided long ago that being imprisoned forever wasn't an option for him. That his yearning for freedom and for the absolute safety of humanity was stronger than anything else; even if it was his own life that was at stake. He had joined the Recon Corps to give them whatever he had to offer for mankind's war against the titans; he had vowed to die for the cause of humanity.

Much to his father's chagrin he couldn't avoid thinking.

He shook off that last thought and bowed his head, smiling at his little sister.

"I certainly hope they won't be disentraled. I'll do the best I can."

She smiled back and then sighed, a shade of sadness coloured her expression.

"I know you will, Irvin. And you will do great… it's just… you'll be even more unavailable for me in the future, that saddens me a little. And…" She trailed off and bit her lip lightly, looking away for a moment. Irvin knew what was going on inside of her head and it upset him a little, too. When Bethy searched his gaze he felt a sting to his heart when he saw the sorrow and the worry in her delicate features. It was only there for a moment before she managed to cover the emotions a little by a smile, even though he thought that her eyes were shining even more than usually. She slid from her armchair and knelt by his feet, pressing her face into his chest and hugged him.

"Just… be careful, Irvin. I don't want to see your name next to mother's in the graveyard for the next 70 years, you hear me…? Please…"

He closed his eyes and hugged her back, resting his head on top of hers. It hurt him to see this… because he knew that she was feeling this way because of him and he was eternally sorry for the pain and sorrow he caused her… but he had to. It was his purpose to fight titans, and nothing would stop him until he defeated them – or died fighting them.

He placed a kiss on top of her head and patted it lightly.

"I promise to be as careful as I can be. And I'll always send you letters to let you know that I'm well fed and taken care of."

That got him a little snort from the younger woman and she looked up at him, her cheerful expression mostly restored. "You'll OF COURSE do that. It's an order, Corporal Smith.", she said, tugging on the green brooch that was attached to his chest. He smiled and clicked the heels of his leather boots together, using one hand to salute.

"Yes, Ma'am."

She laughed and raised a hand to stroke his cheek, wanting to give him a smart retort he was sure, when they both heard the front door open and close. The siblings looked at each other and Bethy's gaze became a little worried once again before she got up and straightened her robe. Irvin got up from his armchair as well, but stayed at the table while Bethy rushed to the door of the living room where the two siblings had been chatting for the last few hours. She smiled back at him and then disappeared in the entrance room, he assumed to help their old man out of his coat

"Oh, Bethy, thank you. Do we have a – oh."

Irvin looked at his father who had just appeared in the doorframe of the living room, bowed his head a little as a greeting.

"Hello, father."

The older man looked at him, the initial confusion soon replaced by the neutral expression he always wore when meeting his son. Irvin's face probably looked the same, impassive as ever when he met his father.

The older man whose once brown hair had turned grey by now looked at him and the cleared his throat.

"I had no idea you were in town."

Irvin smiled just the slightest bit and relaxed a little. He didn't sound as hostile as he had remembered him talk the last time he had been home.

"It was rather spontaneous, father. The Recon Corps has a few things to attend to here in Hermiha and I thought to stop by for a little while. I'm sorry that I seem to have picked the day where you were unavailable."

His father looked at him for a moment before he moved over to sit on the couch, shaking his head a little.

"The Recon Corps… what business do they have to attend here? I don't see any titans around."

It had never been like his father to be warm and welcoming, but a little sign of that he felt at least the slightest bit happy that he paid them a visit would have been nice. The smile that had crept onto his face disappeared upon hearing those words and he inclined his head a little.

"And I'm very happy that you don't, father. It's my purpose to make it stay that way."

The older man's eyes fixed on him for a minute but then shifted to Bethy who had just joined them in the living room, handing her father a glass of water. He thanked her and then snorted in Irvin's direction, looking at him exasperatedly.

"There are no titans inside of the walls, Irvin, and it will stay that way for the time being. They simply can't break through, we're safe in here. Where is the sense in fighting them, making them angry and goad them to attack us in the end? Where is the sense in sacrificing lives, making people die for nothing? We're fine in here, we have everything we need. Son, it's time you quit playing soldier and come home as long as you still CAN."

Irvin looked at the other man, feeling the already so well-known fury tear through him, but none of that reflected on his features. His self-control was always tested when he met his father, but he had learned suppressing his emotions quite well. He had had leading positions in the military for quite some time now, soldiers looked up to him and respected every single one of his decisions, there was no room for exploding emotions. Whatever was going on in his head or his heart, people would only see what they needed to see; nothing more and nothing less.

He stood straight and put a hand onto his heart, the other behind his back, taking in the position that always reminded him of the day when he vowed to serve the cause of humanity until his death. He felt proud, he felt right, and there was no way his old man could say anything to change that.

"It's not a game, father. I'm glad the titans stay outside of the walls, but they're THERE. They're trying to climb up the walls as we speak, they're trying to break through it with all the force they have. They're a threat to mankind – and they keep us caged in here, keep us from going wherever we want to go. That can't be tolerated – I can't tolerate it. I see a sense in fighting them – in exploring them, learning about their weaknesses and habits and finally triumphing over them. I'll do everything I can to get nearer to that goal, and nothing will stop me."

His father looked at him, then snorting again and taking a sip of his water. Bethy looked at Irvin apologetically and moved over to put a hand on his arm.

"Pff. Quite the idealist… it won't get you anywhere – except into a titans slobbering mouth." His voice quivered a little when mouthing his words. "Come home, son. Nothing is waiting for you outside wall Maria, only…" He didn't finish his sentence and looked away, appearing 10 years older for the fracture of a moment before he straightened up. "Find yourself a pretty girl, marry and have kids."

His temper really was tested today, but he managed to suppress his anger. He was well aware of the fact that his father was suppressing so many emotions himself, but he wasn't about to let himself or the Recon Corps be insulted.

"No, father. My fate lies with the military. If I can serve mankind freeing itself then I'll gladly do it, even if it costs me my life." He heard his little sisters gasp and felt her hand clutch his arm, but he continued nonetheless. "At least I know what I'll die for and nobody can take that away from me. Maybe you'll never understand me but I'm a soldier and I'm proud of it." He took a deep breath and then lowered his hands, nodding at the door. "I'll be on my way, it's late and this is leading nowhere. Thanks for the tea and pastries, Bethy, it was really nice seeing you." He looked at his sister and gave her a peck on the cheek, before he moved to leave the room, nodding in the direction of the older man. "Father."

When he passed the doorframe he heard his father's voice again and it made him pause for a moment.

"You're no soldier to me, Irvin. You're my son… retire and don't cause an old man even more grief."

He closed his eyes for a moment, heard his sister say: "Father, don't…". He shook his head and took another deep breath, exited the room.

"I can't."

He took his cloak from the coatrack and left the house, taking a deep breath once he was outside. The cold air of late autumn felt good in his lungs and calmed him a little, he still felt his blood boil in his veins. It was always the same when he met his father. He just didn't understand why he couldn't leave him alone. Irvin understood that he wasn't exactly doing what his father had imagined for him. His father was a merchant and an honest man, he had worked hard for what he had and he was living a good life. He had done everything for his children having a promising future, he had paid a private teacher to give them as much education as he could – and had been livid when Irvin had decided to sign up for the military. 6 years had passed since then and still his father was angry with him for his choice of profession. Irvin was thankful for everything his father had done for him – but he was living his life the way he wanted to. And he only wished for his father to accept and respect that. He didn't need to feel happy about it, Irvin just wanted… him to be proud.

He fastened his warm black cloak that he had laid his green cape off for and started walking when he heard his sister's voice behind him.

"Irvin! Irvin, please wait…!"

He turned around to see Bethy rushing over to him and he stopped, taking her by her shoulders when she came to a hold in front of him, catching her breath.

"Bethy, it's cold and you have no jacket…!"

He moved to take off his cloak to put it onto her shoulders but she grabbed his hand and shook her head.

"It's fine, I'll go back in a minute." She took another deep breath and looked up at Erwin who was at least 6 inches taller than her. Her cerulean eyes looked sad and she held his hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Don't think bad of him, Irvin… he's afraid of losing you. He loves you, he's just too stubborn to show it…"

He smiled a little and returned the squeeze then moved forward to hug his sister with his free arm.

"I know. It's him I've got my stubbornness from after all… but I won't be insulted, not by my own father."

He heard her sigh when she pulled back, looking up at him again. She pushed a bag into his hands that she had brought along and stood on her toe tips to kiss him on the cheek.

"Take this, Irvin. It's your favourites and I still don't trust your military's food…" He couldn't help but smile when he accepted the food, smelling the freshly baked meat pies through the paper. He hugged his sister again and raised his free hand to stroke her cheek.

"Thank you, Bethy. I'm sure I'll enjoy them. And now rush back inside or you'll catch a cold. I'll try to come by again the day after tomorrow, is that convenient for you?"

She beamed at him and nodded, visibly happy at the perspective of seeing him again so soon.

"Of course, anytime it's convenient for you. Take care, Irvin!"

"You too, little sister."

She smiled and then ran back towards the house, waving at him before she entered. Irvin watched her all the way and just turned around when he knew that she was safely inside. She was a little angel and he was just so fond of her. When having met her he always realized how much he missed her when he wasn't home.

A little smile still tugging at his lips he started his way back to the place they were staying. It was one of the Military Police's emergency quarters that they were using for a few days, at the other side of the town. It was quite a distance to go there by foot but he had wanted to do so. He had spend the last few days on his horse's back when they came all the way here from Shinganshima, it felt good to walk around a little. And he had wanted his poor horse to rest a little as they were going to head back in a few days. The white stallion was young and full of strength but even he had showed signs of fatigue yesterday when he had brought him into its stable. So he had thought that he might enjoy a little peace and quiet just as Irvin enjoyed walking through the empty streets.

He still had to get used to the idea that he would have quite some time to himself from now on. As a squad leader he hadn't slept in the same room as all the other recruits but he had shared a room with another squad leader, had used the common shower rooms and had eaten with everybody else in the dining room. As a corporal… he did have an office where he could do his paperwork (and there was a LOT of that), he had his own bedroom and a bathroom attached. He could retreat into his own quarters in the evening, could even eat there alone if he wanted to. It all was a luxury that he had to get used to first; and yet he was already looking forward to it. It imposed a new challenge, a completely different kind of work, much more responsibility that was put onto his shoulders and he hadn't lied to his sister, he was really hoping that his superiors had made the right move with choosing him - but he was up to proving himself, he would do his best.

He had been walking for quite a while when he noticed that he was about to cross one of the most questionable parts of the town. Due to the fact that there lived a lot of people in the walled cities it was unavoidable that there were rich and poor people. There were not enough jobs for everybody and foot shortage had always been an issue ever since mankind had pulled back inside the walls… the Stationary Guard and the Military Police were supposed to do their best in keeping the whole population fed and healthy but such systems never worked out 100%. Not all people got their daily share of food, not all people were regularly checked up upon by a doctor – and that's how poverty and hunger developed into a problem. When food became the target of stealing something went very wrong – and many things went wrong these days. Irvin's head would start aching once he thought about all the things that should be changed – but he knew that not much could be done as long as they lived inside these walls. Once they were free new structures would be needed and that was when things could be thoroughly changed. As long as nothing drastic happened the rich would stay rich and poor people died of hunger. Their system was so full of corruption and injustice that it made his blood boil that his hands were bound in most of those matters. The only thing he could do was fight the titans – and believe in the vision he had about their world becoming much better once they were free.

He dove into the shadows of the narrow streets that would lead him through the worst part of the town. It was the shortest way to their garrison and Irvin didn't see the necessity to walk around it. He wasn't afraid of titans, why would he be afraid of human beings? He was on guard, yes, but he felt safe with the short blade he was carrying at his belt instead of the whole 3D-maneuver-gear. That would have been… a little much. And he needed an authorization when carrying it around in the town, so he had just left it at the garrison. It felt a little strange not to have it with him; he always had to remind himself that he was far away from titan infiltrated territory.

He had no idea where they came from all of a sudden, he hadn't heard a single sound before but when he rounded the next corner he walked right into the display of a fight. It was dark as the only light that was provided were the pale rays of the new moon that was mostly covered by clouds and Irvin couldn't make out much, but there were about five of them, completely coiled into each other. He heard several voices, angry hissing, hushed screaming, a senseless tumble of words. Irvin blinked and put aside the paperback he was carrying, feeling the need to do something but as long as he didn't know who was fighting whom here he couldn't interfere. He took another few seconds to watch, trying to make out what kinds of weapons they used and how many they were – when one of the fighters flew from the ball of people, with as much force as if he had been pushed very hard. It made him lie in the pale moonlight for the split of a second, enough for Irvin to catch a glimpse of him before he jumped back to his feet. It was a boy, barely tall enough to reach Irvin's shoulders and not even half of his own width. He had unkempt black hair and wore nothing but a few rags slung around his haggard body despite the cold, he didn't even have shoes on his feet. His body was all pent-up, tense up to the degree he could snap any second and he had a knife in his right hand, blood already shining of its blade. Irvin blinked when an enraged scream emerged from the boy's mouth and he plunged back at the other fighters, making it quite clear who was fighting whom.

"Give it back you BASTARDS!"

Agonized screams and a cascade of curses was the next Irvin heard and in an instant he went for his sword, pulling it out of its sheath. He had seen enough, he couldn't leave the boy in a 4 against 1 fight – even though the boy had been stupid enough to get back into the fight instead of running.

Irvin dove into the shadows of the narrow road the fight had moved to and tried to make out the small boy, already working out a plan to get him out of this safely – when he stopped right in his tracks. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw two of the other fighters lifeless on the ground, their blood darkening the stones they awkwardly lay on. The remaining three were fighting, the little boy in the middle, lashing out with his knife. He was screaming like a hurt animal when he went for one of the man's throat while he kicked the other in the shins, making the other cry out. He dodged the arms swung at him and kicked the knife out of one of the man's hands, tackled the now unarmed man that had completely lost his balance to the ground. He smashed his elbows onto his head and throat and turned just in time to slash the other man's stomach, making him topple to the ground. He jumped to his feet and kicked the slashed man's head before drilling his knife into the throat of the other man, making him gurgle – and then fall silent. Everything was silent except for a little moan that escaped one of the men before he died and the heavy panting of the boy who knelt on the ground. Irvin, still standing rooted to the spot, stared at the lean boy who hadn't taken notice of him at all. He was standing halfway hidden behind a huge stack of trash so he wasn't too visible for the boy.

The boy got to his feet and the moving clouds chose this moment to release the moon, making a few pale rays enlighten the narrow street. The black-haired boy stared at the men on the ground, his eyes glowering seethingly. There was so much fury in his gaze, so much panic and so much hate in them, making his eyes burn in the cold night. And right into Irvin's mind. He inhaled through his nose, he had never, never once seen someone fight like this. So intent on staying alive, on killing the men threatening him. On getting back what was his, Irvin assumed that the cause of the whole fight was a small package the was lying on the ground, having fallen into a puddle of water. The boy moved to pick it up and cursed, realizing that the bread the package contained was sponged with water. He growled furiously, kicked one of the dead men and cursed again, pressing one of his palms against his thigh. Irvin frowned and concluded that he might have been injured during the heated fight, just realizing it now that the adrenaline was slowly ceding to flood his body and making him feel the pain. The boy groaned and took a couple of steps before he collapsed against the wall, his legs refusing to carry him any longer. He cursed weakly but soon the cursing turned into soft gasps when he hunched, pressing his hands onto his wound.

Irvin was thinking for a few seconds what he should do. He had just witnessed… a boy killing four people. When they had arrived at Hermiha district a couple of days ago the men of the Military Police that had showed them their quarters had been talking about a thug that was scaring Hermiha's underworld to no ends and that they were in the complete dark about who that person was. Nobody had really seen him, the people meeting him mostly turned up very dead or were unable to describe him. It was known that he went for food, he didn't steal money or jewelry. Irvin didn't want to draw his conclusion too hastily but he thought it was possible that this boy, as crazy as it sounded, was the person they were searching for. He hadn't killed for the first time, Irvin could tell, there hadn't been any remorse or doubt in his eyes. He knew what he was capable of and he was dangerous – but he was only a boy. A boy that was hungry, a victim of the corrupt system Irvin so dearly despised. A boy that had stolen and had his prey stolen from him again, as it seemed. He killed for survival – and that was exactly what Irvin was doing, too. The only difference, and that was what made the boy a criminal and Irvin a soldier, he was killing titans in the name of the government and of course he was aware that killing people for food wasn't right. But essentially… the boy yearned for exactly want what Irvin wanted, too: staying alive. And that was maybe one of the reasons why he didn't just walk over, put the boy into custody and presented him to the Military Police.

He took a deep breath, put his blade back into its sheath and started moving towards the boy, not even trying to be silent. The boy would notice him within seconds anyway, his senses had to be good if he had survived on the streets for so long.

Irvin was right, he had barely taken a couple of steps when the boy's head shot up and his whole body tensed, the knife appeared in his hand in a fracture of a second. He struggled to get up, trying to get to his feet as quickly as he could, but his legs just wouldn't carry him and he fell to the ground once more, gasping as he did so. His jaw was clenched and he stared at Irvin loathingly, the knife raised to lash out at him the moment he got within his range.

Irvin looked at him and raised his hands, showing the boy that he didn't have anything in his hands that he could harm him with.

"Relax, I mean you no harm. You look like you need a little help?"

Okay guys~ on to the next? 8DDDDD

Hope you enjoyed reading this!

3


	2. Chapter 2

Attachment

Author: Cigamina

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin

Protagonists: Irvin Smith and Levi are the main focus

Part: 2/?

Warnings: violence , foul language

Rating: will be M

Disclaimer: Characters unfortunately aren't mine, therefore no money-making~ XDDD

Notes: Not too much yet, story starts a few years before the plot in the anime/manga evolves, in year 835.

Please forgive me for making so many mistakes, English is not my native language and I'm sure you will find plenty of mistakes in there! _

Songs I heard while writing the story below:

Music Instructor – Rock your body (Brainbug Remix)

Schiller – Schiller

##################

The other stared at him, his expression not changing one bit, and when Irvin took another step in his direction the boy lashed out, slashing his knife through the air before scrambling backwards a little, keeping the distance between them.

"Fuck off, I swear I'll kill you!"

He had no doubt about that, the boy would do whatever it took to make sure he got out of his mess alive. It didn't matter to him who he was, if he was a soldier or another thug or a nobleman, he didn't make a difference – in a very twisted way that was fairer than any other system Irvin had experienced so far.

Irvin cocked his head to the side and nodded in the direction of the four corpses that were strewn on the other side of the narrow street.

"Don't you think 4 are already enough? I wouldn't like to be slashed and left for bleeding out, anyway."

The boy seethed and growled low in his throat, his body tensed up even more. He looked ready to strike, all pent-up fury visible in his burning eyes – he just knew that he would tumble to Irvin's feet if he tried anything of that kind, and Irvin knew it, too. The boy would stay where he was and so would he.

"Fuck off, then, and leave me the hell alone!"

Irvin watched him calmly, his hands still raised in the air.

"I won't steal your bread, don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you."

The boy was watching him, running his eyes up and down Irvin's body but didn't seem to come to any conclusion. He silently congratulated himself that he had chosen to wear his long black cloak instead of the shorter green cape that had the Scouting Legion's emblem on its back and would have given him away in an instant, but as his black cloak covered him past his knees there was no telling that he was wearing his uniform. Not oven the over-knee-boots that were so typical of the military and the leather straps around their thighs were to be seen. Irvin was sure that the boy would act differently if he had already recognized him as one of the military. He had to be aware of the fact that the men of the Military Police were searching for him and he would certainly be alarmed if he knew that Irvin was a solder even if the emblems attached to his jacket would tell him that he was part of the Scouting Legion, not the Military Police.

The boy was frowning, his thin black eyebrows furrowed. He couldn't make any sense of this, Irvin could conclude. He didn't understand what Irvin wanted and he couldn't be blamed, parts of Irvin didn't understand what he was doing either. He acted on instinct, and it told him that he should stay. His instincts very rarely were wrong so he trusted them even though he had no idea where this would lead him.

"What do you want? If it's not me and not the fucking bread, what the hell do you want?!"

He sounded aggressive and frustrated, even the pain he had to be experiencing was colouring his voice a little. Irvin was still just looking at him, thinking it a good strategy to confuse the boy. He thought that he knew everything there was to know on the streets but Irvin would prove him wrong.

"As I said before, I think you might need some help. Like being patched up for example, I do have some experience with wounds."

Oh yes did he have. He had been wounded, his comrades had been wounded and all of them knew the basics to get yourself and others patched up so they neither bled to death nor had their wounds infected when they rode/were transported back to their head quarters. He always had a few things with him in the breast pocket of his jacket, just in case something unexpected happened – just like today. Even though he had never expected to use it on a small boy that had just killed 4 people right under his nose.

The boy stared at him, not lowering his knife one bit. His eyes were full of mistrust and anger; he didn't believe one word Irvin was saying. He hadn't expected him to, knowing he would have to do a lot better if he wanted to convince the boy of his pure objective.

"Patch me up, huh? Who're you, the fuckin' good Samaritan? You going to cut your cloak in two with the sword you're carrying, too? Don't fuck with me you damned prick, just piss off!"

Besides his rather foul mouth he had some other qualities, too, Irvin remarked. He had recognized the outlines of the blade attached to his belt even though the cloak made it almost impossible to see it and it was still rather dark in the alley, especially when the clouds covered the moon again. The boy was good – and he would have to try even harder.

He smiled at the boy and inclined his head a little, still not moving his hands. He didn't want to alarm the boy even more than he already did by just towering over him. Irvin had quite an appeareance, he was tall, broad and muscular and was bound to seem like a giant to the small boy who was still hunched on the ground.

"You have remarkably good eyes. How about we make a deal? I'll take it off, put it on the ground – and you put away your knife?"

He looked at Irvin, stunned for a moment, then he barked out a laugh, a hoarse one that sounded like he hadn't laughed for quite a while.

"Are you fucking crazy? You put away your blade, I keep my knife. Who knows what else you've got under that damn cloak? Don't dare come near me, I'll slice you in half you damn bastard!"

Irvin sighed and looked at the younger, understanding that he needed to give him a few very good reasons to make him lower his weapon. Of course, he supposed that the boy hadn't made many good experiences with people and certainly didn't trust easily. Which was what had probably kept him alive for so long, along with his fighting and observing skills. What he lacked in size and mass he certainly made up for with other qualities.

"If you're done swearing could you please put what nature equipped you with up there to use?" He tapped his own temple with a finger, making the other clearly understand what he was talking about. "Why would I want to trick you? I could have run for the Military Police 15 minutes ago if I wanted to have you captured. If I wanted to kill you, for whatever reason you want to accuse me with, I would just attack you and certainly I wouldn't offer to put away my blade." He watched him closely, trying to see if he was getting anywhere with his reasoning. "I don't want your soaked bread, I don't want your knife and I don't want to spill your blood, I don't want to capture you. I only want to have a look at your wound and see if I can help."

The other didn't say anything for a minute, just looked at him. His expression didn't change but Irvin was positive that he was thinking about his words, pondering them and turning them over in his head, trying to find a hole in his reasoning. He wouldn't find one as there wasn't one.

He made him wait another few seconds that Irvin endured patiently. Patience was something he had learned during his military-training and there were very few people who could make him snap. He was certain that a boy from the street wouldn't be one of those people.

He glowered at him, even showed his teeth a little when he growled low in his throat. Irvin found the term 'untamed spooked wild animal' more and more adequate to describe the boy.

He let out another frustrated growl and tensed up even more, ready to snap at any moment.

"Throw the damn blade away."

Irvin triumphed silently, it seemed that a little insulting and reasoning didn't hurt when dealing with unkempt, aggressive kids of the street. It almost made him chuckle when he thought that he, the corporal, was being ordered about by a boy that looked like 12 years old. It the boy only knew…

Irvin complied and slid one hand into his cloak, causing the boy to inhale sharply and push himself away from Irvin another couple of feet just in case he would just go lashing out at him. But Irvin just calmly decollated the sword from his belt and held it up for the boy to see before throwing it to the side where it was out of his reach. He slipped his hand inside of his cloak again and reached into the pocket of his leather jacket, conjured a bandage and a few antiseptic compresses from it and held them up as well. The boys eyes had widened when he had reached into his cloak once again, but seeing that he actually had things he could patch him up with definitely surprised him. Irvin smiled a little and waited patiently, curious what the other would do now.

The grayish blue eyes watched him intently, brows still furrowed, he was still searching for any sign that Irvin had been lying about his intentions. But he came to the conclusion that Irvin didn't show him any – and he slowly, ever so slowly lowered his knife. Without looking away from him for even a split second he put the knife onto the ground, pushed it just a little away from him – where he could still grab for it if he felt the necessity to do so. But he let go of it, curled his hand into a fist next to its handle. His eyes were still staring at Irvin, mistrust and fury and pain still very visible, but it seemed that the pain seemed to take over little by little as the boy groaned und pressed his other hand onto his thigh.

"Are you a doctor or what…?"

Irvin smiled and bit back on the retort that yes, he used sharp metal to cut through meat to see what was underneath, and settled for not taking his chances.

"No, I'm afraid I'm not. I just happen to have some experience with wounds and how to treat them, that's all."

Revealing to the boy that he usually butchered titans or at least tried to was probably not the right move.

"May I come closer? I'm afraid of your wound infecting if it's not cleaned properly soon."

The black-haired boy glowered at him and his hand twitched for his knife but in the end Irvin earned a hesitant nod. He exhaled silently and smiled, relief washed through him. Even though he had not yet won, he seemed to be pretty close to it.

"As if it'd matter."did the boy mutter.

He took careful, even steps in his direction and finally crouched down in front of him where the boy could see him and everything he did with his hands. Irvin looked at him, took in the tense features of the boy. He really looked young, his features were even and below the dirt he had to be fairly handsome. His hair was dirty and unkempt and there was nothing but skin and muscles to his bones. Irvin assumed that he had been living on the streets for quite some time to make him look as haggard as he did. He finished by looking into his eyes, the blue eyes still glowering at him from beneath dark black lashes. There were dark circles underneath his eyes, giving him a little skeleton-like appearance. Irvin was certain that it was impossible to sleep long and peacefully somewhere underneath a bridge or in a narrow street, always living with the fear to get stabbed when slumbering.

"Show me your wound."

The blue eyes watched him and narrowed, but when Irvin didn't move and waited for him to decide on the pace they were taking things, he muttered something to himself and took his hand from the wound, pushing the dirty fabric of his rags away to enable Irvin to see the wound – and he inhaled sharply when he saw it. Vertically carved into the flesh of his left thigh there was a cut that seemed to be rather deep, the man inflicting it had used a lot of force. Fortunately Irvin couldn't see the bone and he was able to tell that the man had missed a very important artery by very little, but it was still a rather severe injury. He was a little surprised that the boy hadn't yet passed out from the pain and the blood-loss but he concluded that it must be the adrenaline flooding his body that kept him upright. What Irvin also noticed now that he was closer to the boy was the fact that he was shivering all over. That was something the adrenaline couldn't cover, the boy was freezing and having lost quite a lot of blood certainly wasn't helping to keep his body warm. Irvin was already raising his hands to unfasten his cloak because he wanted to drape it over the boy's shoulders - when it occurred to him that it might not be a good idea. He was wearing his full uniform underneath the cloak and he was certain that the boy wouldn't react favourable to that. But… at that rate he would freeze in front of Irvin's eyes. And he needed something to tightly wrap around the boy's thigh to make the wound stop bleeding so fiercely; the most suitable thing he could think of were the straps that were wrapped around his own thighs.

Irvin watched the boy and he was staring back, frowning at him.

"N-not what you're used to, eh? You g-going to be sick? I betcha haven't seen anything like this before."

Irvin only blinked. For a moment he couldn't follow the boy's train of thoughts because he was still pondering how he was supposed to solve the problem of the boy freezing to death without blowing up his cover, but the clashing of teeth when the boy spoke had him make up his mind. He smiled a little and put down the bandages and the compresses, aseptically wrapped up as they were he had no fear of them getting dirty.

"I've seen worse, don't worry." Parts of arms and legs bitten off by titans beat the deep cut even though it was a rather severe wound. Irvin couldn't help but smile when the boy actually looked a tad disappointed. "Given the fact that you're shivering miserably I'll live up to your expectations and pull off my coat to put it around you. I thought I'd inform you beforehand to escape being sliced up because you think I'm going to pull a trick on you." That earned him a snort from the boy and he was glad to hear it, telling him that the other started to let his guard down just a little bit. Knowing that his plan was risky and that he just had fractions of seconds to do what he had to, but he had to try. So he raised his hands and unfastened the latch of his cloak to pull it off his shoulders when he was ready.

"As you don't have your sword I get the whole cloak then, good Samaritan? That's too-" The rest of his sentence remained unspoken because a scream erupted from the boy's lips, telling Irvin that the boy had recognized him for what he was. His body jerked back violently and his face was contorted with rage, his hand went for his knife. Irvin only had fractions of seconds to let go of the coat, slam his left hand down onto the knife before the boy could reach it, plunge forward to pin down the boy's legs with his own weight and grab his throat to push him as effectively back against the wall as he could manage.

And he succeeded.

He felt the boy's hand scratch and rip at his own when he tried to get to his knife, his other hand was hitting and tearing at Irvin's outstretched arm to make him release him, his body was violently thrashing underneath Irvin's – but Irvin didn't let go, he remained in place and listened to the boy's screaming and cursing for a few moments. He wasn't trying to suffocate the boy, merely keeping him at arm's length to spare himself being bitten. The worst part of it were his eyes though, burning into Irvin's own with an expression of pure hatred and betrayel.

"You fuckin' bastard, I knew you're some filthy traitor! Let me go you sick fuck, I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you and LET ME THE HELL GO! YOU DAMNED SON OF A BITCH LET ME-"

"Would you JUST be quiet for a second?"

Irvin's steady voice cut through his cascade of insults and he underlined his words with a little movement of his thumb, just applying a little more pressure to the boy's trachea, not enough to really cause him problems breathing but making him gasp nonetheless. He steadily looked into the other's blue eyes, making it crystal clear that he meant his words just exactly as he mouthed them.

"Believe me, it wouldn't take much for me to strangle you right here and now, or snap your neck in two. As you might have realized I'm from the Scouting Legion, my opponents are usually about 6 times your height and taller and I still manage to get them to their knees somehow. Yes, I'm from the military that you are, let he make a hazard guess, not quite fond of, but I've got very little to do with the Military Police that has been chasing you for a while. What happens here is their business, my field of responsibility lies outside of wall Maria-" That was a lie, of course dealing with criminals when he caught one in the act WAS part of his duty, but the boy didn't have to know every little detail. "- and therefore I'd appreciate it if you just relaxed a little. I still mean you no harm and I'm still here to patch you up. I still want to put that cloak around you so you won't freeze to death right under my hands and I won't take you to the Guards or anywhere else. As I told you already, there's no need for me to be kind to you if I intended to hurt you. And don't look at me like that, I didn't lie to you or anything. I thought that showing my uniform to you right away might worry you a little too much, and I suppose I was right." Dark blue eyes were still trying to burn him to ashes but he didn't say anything, just breathed harshly through his nose. He seemed to be thinking about Irvin's words and he gave him time to do so, moving his thumb away from his trachea but not releasing him anywhere else. Irvin slightly shook his head and cocked his head to the side, never letting his guard down because he felt that the boy's body was still pent-up to the point of snapping. "I think I really liked being regarded as the good Samaritan better." He gave him some more time to think, to ponder his words and turning them over in his head, once again trying to search for possible catches. Irvin understood his fury and hate perfectly well and a part of him felt very sorry for his need to be a little forceful, and yet he didn't want to be slashed by his knife. He would get it into his thick head that he didn't want to hurt him, the boy would end up believing him if he liked it or not.

The boy seethed at him a little more even though he snorted when Irvin attempted at a little bit of humor which he took as a good sign, he didn't try to wrench himself away from him again. He had also stopped scratching and tearing at the hand he was still keeping pressed flat onto the knife, he was merely gripping his wrist tightly. Irvin looked at him inquiringly.

"Can I let go without having to fear you slicing me up? I just want to move back to give you some space, put that coat around you and then finally try to keep that wound from infecting. Oh, and I need one of the straps around my thigh to wrap it around your thigh to make the cut stop bleeding. So I'll reach down to unfasten that once I got to let you go."

The other was frowning at him, pushing his head back against the wall as if trying to melt into it and being freed from the hand that was pressing against his throat.

"Why d'you tell me that?"

Irvin looked at him, mildly surprised upon hearing his question, but relieved that his thinking hadn't culminated in another cascade of curses and insults.

"To prevent you from trying to lash out at me again because one of my actions surprises and scares you?"

The boy's eyes narrowed upon hearing his words and he hit Irvin's outstretched arm with as much force as he could muster with his free hand, wriggling underneath his larger body. The blow hurt, but he wasn't about to let the other know.

"I'm not scared you damn giant!"

He hissed at Irvin, his eyes still burning with an intensity that Irvin had not yet conceived, entertaining Irvin's idea of him being an untamed animal quite strongly. He sighed, quietly muttering "Of course not." and looked at him until the boy stilled, frustrated that he didn't stand a chance against Irvin. He sure was surprisingly strong for a boy his size and built but Irvin came with some natural advantages that outnumbered the black-haired boy by some.

"Can I let you go? I really didn't plan on sitting on top of you the whole night."

The boy snorted again and narrowed his eyes, glowering at him but his body relaxed just the tiniest bit.

"I don't know if you CAN but you SHOULD. Just fucking let go."

Irvin almost chuckled, he liked the boy's wits in a way – when ignoring the foul language he was expressing them with.

He slowly rocked back onto his heals, releasing the boy's throat and lifting his weight from his legs. He waited another few seconds until he slid his hand from underneath the boy's own, being fully aware of the fact that the boy now had the knife underneath his palm, just needing to grab it. For a split second he thought that he had been deluded by his trust in the other's common sense, noticing the boy's body tense up and he already worked up an emergency plan how to pin the other down best before he even moved a muscle – when the boy relaxed. His hand stayed on top of his knife but he didn't grab it. Irvin waited another few seconds, just to be sure, before he inclined his head to the side slightly.

"I take it that I can start?"

The blue eyes looked at him a little calmer now that he felt his knife's bade underneath his hand.

"Feel free."

Irvin smiled and sank to his knees next to the boys legs, grabbing his coat to put it around the boys shoulders. The younger wrapped it around him and covered himself with it, huddled into it as much as he could. Irvin moved his hands to quickly unfasten one of the straps circling his thigh before wrapping it around the boys thigh, fastening it firmly which earned him a little gasp from the boy. He opened one of the little packages that contained an aseptic piece of cloth and cleaned his hands. It earned him a dubious stare and a frown.

"You always carry all that stuff around?"

Irvin chuckled and opened another package containing aseptic compresses, preparing them to finally clean the wound. The bleeding had already ceased a little and he would just wait another minute.

"As we tend to get wounded quite often when running into titans it is rather advisable to do so, yes. It doesn't help much when you happen to… misplace an arm or a leg, though." And that happened on a regular basis he could tell.

The boy stared at him and made an engrossed sound but didn't shudder or gave any other hint that the thought of bitten off arms or legs intimidated him.

"Eww. …Recon Corps, huh…?"

Irvin smiled and lowered his hands to the wound after inspecting it for a few seconds.

"Yes. That's the ones with the wings. Careful, this might sting a little."

He gestured at the embroidered wings that were decorating his left breast pocket and then got to work, carefully wiping off the drying blood around the wound and its edges. His actions wrung a pained hiss from the boy's lips and he quietly apologized, continued his cleaning nevertheless.

"Hnn – I know that, thanks for the lecture."He flinched when Irvin moved to clean the deep but and he put a hand onto his thigh to keep him in place. "Nhhh… you must be mad to willingly become titan's food…"

Irvin looked up at him questioningly, arching his eyebrows.

"Pardon?"

The boy pressed his back against the wall to steady himself, clenching his jaw. The antiseptic might be stinging more than a little.

"It's true, isn't it? Each time you go outside not even half of you return… that's insane."

Ah, that was what the boy was aiming at. Returning to his task he decided that he might as well explain their – and with that his own – motives a little better. It sure didn't hurt to distract the boy from the cleaning he was doing as it seemed to be more painful than he had assumed.

"We suffer losses, that's true. But we need to face the titans, learn about them to fight them. We won't accomplish anything staying inside."

He took out another compress because his first one was already blood-soaked and got on with his task, making the boy moan softly.

"But you stay alive."

Irvin looked up into the boy's face that was tense with the pain he was feeling and he inclined his head a little.

"Alive and caged up. If that was what I wanted I'd have signed up for the Military Police."

He went on with cleaning his wound as the boy stayed silent for a while, hissing and cursing a little whenever Irvin moved away from the wound's edges more to the middle of the cut. He clenched his jaw and tried breathing through his nose, finally deciding that it was better to talk than to fully concentrate of the burning sensation Irvin was causing him.

"So… you willingly decided to join the Scouting Legion?"

He threw a glance at him, mildly surprised that he showed an interest in hearing about Irvin's own motives now. He nodded and took another compress, the last one as it seemed that the wound was as clean as he could achieve in a dirty alleyway.

"It had always been the Scouting Legion for me, there was no decision to be made. And I'm afraid that we might need to attempt a few stitches, the cut is too much ajar to just bandage it."

He fumbled with another package and shook out needle and thread when he managed to rip it open, causing the boy to groan. He smiled apologetically and prepared the needle, pushing the thread through the eye of the needle. "I'm sorry, you might have to prepare for a little more stinging. But I'm good at this our doctors always tell me, you'll avoid scarring like up there."He absentmindedly brushed his index finger across a rather nasty scar that marred the inside of his thigh, the one he had caught a glimpse on when he had fastened the leather-strap around the boy's thigh, not thinking much of it. Feeling the lean body flinch violently and jerk back made him look up, witnessing the boy's hand tighten around the handle of his knife and fear flash across his delicate features. Irvin blinked and help up his hands, confused by the fierce reaction. He looked at him apologetically, wondering what exactly had caused his reaction; pain or the touch itself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

He kept his words this way, watching the other for his reaction. He didn't think that the greatly scarred skin really hurt when being touched, but he had stirred something in the boy that definitely told him that there was something about the scar – but it didn't really matter, he bet the boy had tons of scars scattered across his body considering his lifestyle. He just wanted him to relax so he could get to stitch up the wound.

Dark blue eyes glowered at him, fear and mistrust flashing in his eyes, his hand tightened around the knife's handle again and Irvin almost felt the urge to apologize again - when the boy shook his head a little awkwardly and relaxed, sagging against the wall behind him. He motioned for Irvin to go on, reaching for a piece of his rags to cover the old scar with. Irvin complied and carefully started sewing the edges of the scars together after having wiped another compress across the scar to lower the chances of it inflaming to a minimum. The boy cringed a little and whimpered softly, biting down on his tongue to keep himself from making sounds. Again he chose distraction over concentrating on what Irvin was doing.

"But why? Why the Recon Corps?" he pressed through gritted teeth. Irvin was as gentle as he could be when sewing somebody together but of course it hurt. He would just have to endure it for another couple of minutes.

He didn't have to think long about the boy's question and answered it, relieved that the boy didn't seem to bear any enmity about what had just happened.

"Because I believe in freedom and the pride of humanity. I believe in a future where nobody has to be afraid of titans maybe breaching through a wall one day, in a future where no walls are needed to protect us. And therefore I'm willing to fight."

The boy winced when another stitch was made and secured with the surgeon's knot that Irvin was quite skilled at making by now, having stitched up many of his own wounds and those of others over the years. His eyes narrowed and he tried breathing calmly through his nose, calming himself. When he spoke, his voice indicated the pain he was feeling and Irvin thought to recognize a good measure of incredulity in its tone.

"But you're most likely to die?"

Irvin didn't look up because he wanted to finish the stitching as quickly as possible, but he smiled when he answered. His voice was firm, not leaving any doubt about the seriousness of his words.

"At least I know what I live and die for; and nothing can take that away from me. If I die in battle I'll die for the cause of humanity, and I'll die with my head up, proud that I have given everything I could to help freeing mankind from its imprisonment. If that's what it takes to get us closer to achieving our goal, I'll gladly give my all."

That silenced the boy for a few moments and when Irvin looked up he saw the boy glancing at him thoughtfully even though he frowned.

"So… you… die when you're ordered to?"

Irvin stopped the even movements of his hands and looked into the boy's eyes, inclining his head to the side a little.

"If that can be paraphrased into 'I'd do whatever I'm ordered to by my superiors', then yes, I would. Without hesitation."

Again his voice was even, serious, and filled with so much conviction that it made the boy fall silent again.

Irvin looked back down at the wound, only a few more stitches to go. Then he could put the remaining compresses to it and wrap the whole thing up with a bandage. That way he ran the less risks of it reopening or inflaming.

He seemed to have gotten his voice back as he heard him clear his throat and then speak.

"That… reduces your superiors to nothing better than what the titans are."

Securing the last stitch with another knot Irvin bent down and bit through the thread, examining the suture he had made with critical eyes before shifting his eyes to the boy's face, frowning slightly. The boy… had an interesting way of thinking. Now that he laid off the swearing and hissing he was remarkably quick at overlooking facts, adapting to new pieces of information and grasping them. Even though drawing wrong conclusions – but that came from lacking age and experience and Irvin set forth to correcting him. He was willing to answer his questions and discuss his criticism as long as he restrained from being abusive.

"Oh no, don't look at it that way. The titans kill for… hunger, for instinct, for fun even, maybe, we don't know. My superiors are aware of every man they send to death and they do it because it's humanity's only choice on advancing towards our goal. Sacrifices must be made and nothing can be changes if there aren't people who're ready to risk everything. My superiors… some people have to lose their humanity to save humanity. And they are dependent on people who're willing to trust them, to give them everything."

His words earned him a frown and the boy seemed to think about them a little more when Irvin grabbed for the last compresses to spread them onto the suture.

"Doesn't… that make you a will-less dog? And doesn't it collide with your will to be free and all that stuff?"

Irvin looked up and now it was his time to think about the other's words. They were amazingly elaborate he had to admit and it made him wonder just for how long the boy had been living on the streets. Judging from his looks he would aim for since he was born, from the way he thought… he was either a by nature very intelligent child that had a lot of bad luck or… he had acquired this lifestyle rather recently.

He inclined his head and looked into the dark blue eyes, noting that once he wasn't raging and concentrating on something his eyes and expression didn't give away his emotions as easily. There was a deadpan characteristic to his features once he was calm.

"Yes and no. I don't think about whether my superior's decision is right or not, I don't question. I obey. BUT I'm there because I want to; how does that make me will-less? I decided to sign my life over to the scouting legion and I don't regret it."

The boy looked at him and Irvin was almost curious what he would come up with next but he just snorted and watched Irvin when he grabbed the bandage and started firmly wrapping it around the boy's thigh.

"Hmpf. Quite the heroic martyr, huh?"

Irvin chuckled and smiled, being careful to apply just as much pressure to his movements that the bandage would neither slide down his thigh nor constrict the blood circulation there.

"I'd humbly call it loyal and romantically idealistic."

He knew that people not belonging to the Scouting legion who heard him talk would rather call him a fool, maybe insane and certainly a drilled subordinate to a system of bondage where you gave up yourself to serve the community. He doubted anybody could understand his feelings unless they had lived through the same things he did and shared at least some of his passion.

The boy snorted again and raised a hand to touch the bandage that Irvin had just finished wrapping around his thigh, looking up into Irvin's eyes.

"Huh. …who are you?"

Irvin cocked a head to the side, not sure what the boy wanted to know. His name, his position, his profession, in a literal or a figurative way? He wouldn't put wanting to know any of that beyond the black-haired boy.

He decided to start with the most obvious, though.

"My name is Irvin Smith."

The boy threw him an almost bored look; he took it he hadn't been interested in his name.

"No, I mean that." He gestured vaguely in the direction of Irvin's chest and he needed the following question to realize what the boy had seen there. "Is it a… rank?"

Irvin had almost forgotten that he did wear a golden emblem to his chest. He usually wouldn't put it there as all of his men knew who he was anyway but he had wanted to show it to his sister and brought it along for that reason. Irvin smiled and packed up the things that still remained from patching the boy up, putting it back into the breast pocket of his short leather jacket.

"I'm the Scouting Legion's corporal."

His words didn't seem to have much of an effect but he had been looking into the boy's face attentively for quite a while now, to the extent that he caught the minimal widening of his eyes. The boy must be profoundly shaken, having been patched up by and having chatted with not only a soldier of all things but one of the higher ranked leaders of the Military – that must have tumbled over his view on the world.

"…"

Irvin smiled and rocked back onto his heels, looking at the boy questioningly.

"Do you think you can stand?"

He had rested a little, warmed up and the wound was taken care of but he still had lost a fair amount of blood. Irvin watched him when he carefully tried to get to his feet, trying not to strain his injured leg too much. Below the cloak he was clutching the package with the soaked bread to his chest with one hand.

Irvin held out a helping hand but the boy only glowered at him and used the wall to make it back to his feet. He swayed a little but then steadied himself, still bracing himself against the wall. Irvin stood up to his full height, realizing just how short the boy was now that he was standing right next to him; the black-haired boy had to look up quite a lot when he wanted to see into Irvin's face. And his cloak was pooling around the other's ankles because it was much too long for him, making him seem even tinier.

The smaller one let go of the wall, putting his weight onto both of his legs and tried shifting it onto the left. If it hurt a lot he covered that up quite a lot, he just narrowed his eyes a little but kept himself upright. Irvin had to give him credit, he had seen grown men injured less and whining much more.

A thought crossed his mind and he paused when he thought about it another few moments, his mind already scheming. That… might have been the silliest thing he had ever thought of… but… in a way it seemed like the only road he could take at this crossroad. And again he trusted on his instincts.

"Where is your… the place you're staying?"

He would have almost said 'home' but chances were high that the boy didn't have something like that so he paraphrased it to not making it sound like mockery.

Blue eyes narrowed and the boy gripped his knife's handle a little tighter but relaxed a moment later and tugged the knife back into somewhere in his rags.

"Everywhere."

Irvin nodded and then went over to retrieve his sword, refastening it to his belt where he had taken it off a while ago. His actions were eyed skeptically but when he returned to the boy he wasn't greeted with a drawn-out knife and he took that as a good sign.

"I'll walk you everywhere, then." The other's protests were simply ignored and he cut through the boy's voice with his own, making it clear that he wouldn't take a 'no' for an option."I'll keep you company for a while. You don't have to lead me anywhere, just close to there you want to go or up to which point you feel it is safe for you to take me. But I didn't patch you up to have you murdered because you're in no shape to fight anybody off right now."

The other huffed and glared at him but Irvin knew that the boy knew that he was having a point. He was weakened and injured, he wouldn't be able run or move as quickly as he had to to make up for his lacking size and mass and that was making him an easy target.

He pfffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest, pulling Irvin's cloak even tighter around his body.

"Don't you have more important things to do? Like being a titan's midnight snack?"

Irvin grinned and shook his head before turning to leave the narrow street.

"That brilliant scheme has to be delayed until morning, titans are rather inactive during the night. Lead the way."

The boy stared at him incredulously and Irvin smiled, always content to have him at a loss of what to say. His mouth was even a little agape before he remembered to shut it and put a bored expression onto his delicate features. He huffed again and then started limping out of the narrow alleyway back onto the broader street Irvin had been walking on when he had run into the quarrel. He spared the four corpses a glimpse as they passed, feeling bad that he hadn't been able to get into the picture before the boy had taken them out. He knew that he had to do something about it, but in which way… depended strongly on the way the boy and himself were going to part.

"The Military sure fucks with your minds, the way you're talking can't be called sane."

Irvin chuckled and left the boy's side for a moment to retrieve the paperback his sister had given him before joining him, the boy hadn't stopped walking. Irvin's cloak polished the floor behind him.

"It has always been rumoured that I had a grim sense of humor."

The boy snorted and limped on, not making a sound indicating that his movements hurt.

"You sure do."

They walked in silence for a little while and Irvin found that now was the right time to set some things in motion. Without looking at him he asked him a question.

"Have you ever thought of joining the Military?"

The black-haired boy turned his heads towards him and gave him a frown, his brows furrowed.

"Is that a catch question?"

Irvin chuckled and shook his head, looking at the boy.

"Why didn't you, if I may inquire? And don't tell me 'I don't get along with the Military Police' because that's no reason. You can have a great career in the Military without having much to do with the Military Police."

The frown even deepened and the boy was looking at him strangely. Maybe he thought Irvin had finally lost it – and he admitted that maybe, in his position, Irvin would think exactly the same.

"If I can't appoint 'I'm a criminal and just don't want to be put into prison' as a good reason then it would be: I'm not insane?"

Now it was Irvin's turn to frown as he wasn't able to follow his train of thoughts. When he answered he didn't know if what he was saying was an answer according to what the boy had asked him by his cryptic question.

"The Scouting Legion isn't the only branch you could sign up for if you want to tell me that you think that you're not insane enough to fight titans outside the walls. There is the Stationary Guard and, of course, the Military Police, too. Even though you do need top grades to be able to join the latter."

When the boy answered it was Irvin who was at a loss of what to say; because he hadn't expected it to be anything like that.

"I didn't mean the titans. For me almost everyone is like a titan… I'm not afraid of guys bigger than me. There's no difference between the thread of being stabbed and the thread of being eaten." His voice was very quiet when he said the last words.

Irvin stared at him for a few seconds and then turned his head to look ahead, his brain working fast. That had been a statement – even though the boy probably had never even seen a titan what he said did make sense. He might never have experienced the terror of staring into a titan's grinning, lipless face and have gigantic hands reach for you, but in essential the boy was doing the same Irvin did: struggling against powers that were far beyond what he could muster up, always having to adapt quickly and finding ways to equal his opponent's power to take them down eventually, always having to fear that the slightest mistake could cost him his life. The emotions he had to be feeling when facing 4 grown men had to be similar to what Irvin was experiencing when he looked into a titan's greedy face.

He was silent for another few seconds, silently thanking his instincts to be so accurate that he could trust on them without much thinking.

When he turned back to the boy, he found blue eyes looking at him.

"They offer you a warm bed, food three times a day and the security that you won't be killed in your sleep. They train you properly for three years and allow you to choose your path from there. It's the only education offered for free. I wouldn't say that sounds too bad."

His voice sounded exactly like it had the whole time, nothing giving away the urgency he was feeling. He had to go about this the right way if he wanted the situation to play out the way he wanted it to and he wasn't sure yet if he was able to push the right buttons.

The boy frowned and looked away, staying silent for a while. Irvin waited patiently, rather certain that he would get a verbal reaction from the smaller one. The fact that the boy hadn't waved him off with a simple 'I just don't want to, shut the hell up.' and was instead thinking about his words delighted him a little.

When the boy finally spoke his voice was very hesitant and quiet, Irvin had to concentrate to hear the middle part before the boy spoke up and hastily finished his sentence.

"… I… I wouldn't… couldn't… I just… I don't want to be a tool."

He looked away to the side but Irvin had caught his almost flustered expression for the glimpse of a moment. He smiled a little, unseen by the boy, and looked ahead to spare the boy of having to hide his face from him. He thought that he knew what the boy had wanted to say before it occurred to him that he was about to say something rather… personal. Giving away what he felt. Up to now he had asked Irvin a lot of things about himself and his feelings but hadn't shared anything of his own.

He carefully thought about his words before mouthing them, hoping that they affected the boy in the way he intended to.

"I've realized for myself that sometimes… it needs submission to gain freedom."

The boy didn't respond to that, all he got was a long, contemplating stare – and he got the feeling that it was exactly what he wanted to get.

The boy came to a halt at another crossroad and looked up at Irvin who stopped next to him.

"I'll go on alone."

Irvin nodded and the boy moved to untangle himself from Irvin's cloak but he just put up a hand.

"No, keep it."

The boy stared at him and Irvin smiled, content to have thrown him off-balance again.

"You can come to the east garrison and return it."

His voice didn't give away if he was serious about his proposal or not, he would leave it up to the boy to decide upon it. It had the effect that the boy sputterd and Irvin laughed, looking into his by incredulity twisted face.

"Take care until then."

And with nothing more he walked on, correcting his direction into that of the garrison he had to walk to. He smiled when he heard the other's voice call after him and chuckled.

"Don't get eaten by a titan!"

He glanced back over his shoulder to see the boy looking after him, his cloak still wrapped tightly around his emaciated body.

"As I'm staying here for another five days they'll unfortunately have to wait until next week."

The boy's snort was the last thing he heard before he rounded a corner and disappeared from the boy's sight. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath through his nose, exhaling slowly. Keeping on walking he let the night's events pass by before his inner eye, a mixture of feeling washing through him. That… had been unusual, to put it mildly. That boy… was very, very unusual. And also… Irvin had acted very unusually, he was aware of that fact. But… there was something already working in his mind, little pieces of information and impressions linking together to scheme out plans just as his mind always did. He was good at strategies and usually they turned out to be useful, just as his instincts rarely failed him. That was the only reason why he was acting like he did. Usually… he had to report what he had seen, civilians had been killed in front of his eyes, he had seen (and helped) a wanted criminal. That was something he couldn't just ignore. But – he was going about this in his own way. And he would do what he had to in order to have done his duties and remain a clean conscience.

It was all in the boy's hands to influence his fate – Irvin just hoped the boy would be living up to the expectations he had in him. He had seen something in him that he hoped he had managed to kindle, that he had put something in motion. Sometimes… all that was needed was a little inception.

Irvin went back to the garrison, the paperback full of pastries still in his hands. He couldn't avoid thinking guiltily that he could have given the boy some of them – but on the other hand… maybe it was better for him to stay hungry. It would make the prospect of three meals a day more desirable, he thought with a smile as he passed the guards stationed at the garrison's front door.

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Okaaaaay~ now I can't stop thinking of Irvin being Dominick Cobb… 8DDDD

Hope you enjoyed reading this!


	3. Chapter 3

Attachment

Author: Cigamina

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin

Protagonists: Irvin Smith and Levi are the main focus

Part: 3/?

Warnings: violence , foul language

Rating: will be M

Disclaimer: Characters unfortunately aren't mine, therefore no money-making~ XDDD

Notes: Not too much yet, story starts a few years before the plot in the anime/manga evolves, in year 835.

Please forgive me for making so many mistakes, English is not my native language and I'm sure you will find plenty of mistakes in there! _

Songs I heard while writing the story below:

Flying Steps – In da arena

Music Instructor – Rock your body (Brainbug Remix)

Schiller – Schiller

* * *

Attachment– Chapter 3

############

"That… is a very unusual request I'll have you know, corporal."

It somehow seemed that 'unusual' had become the word of the hour, Irvin thought to himself. Everything that had happened after his leaving his father's house had been highly unusual – so maybe it was time for unusual actions.

He was seated in front of an old oaken desk, his arms resting on the arm braces of the chair he was sitting on. Sitting face to face with him was an older man who was looking at Irvin bemusedly. He had recently given up on shaving every morning and was slowly growing a beard, the graying hair was starting to cover his cheeks and the skin underneath his nose. It being unfamiliar to Irvin's eyes it suited him, though. Dallis Zacklay was by almost 20 years Irvin's elder and he hadn't met many people who he respected to the extent that he respected Zacklay. He was a brilliant strategist, patient, fair, charismatic, strong, brave, a lot of qualities that Irvin wished to achieve to a greater extent himself.

Reporting yesterday night's events to his commander was the first thing he was doing this morning. He was lucky to have caught the commander before the man had had a chance to leave the garrison and now he was seated in front of him, waiting for Zacklay to give him his opinion about it all. To say that he was relaxed and comfortable would have been a blatant lie although he knew that none of it showed on the outside. His deadpan face was quite good and he knew that he had to be souvereign in this conversation to make his plan rule out – or at least to create surroundings in which his plan as much as had a CHANCE to rule out.

He inclined his head and looked at his commander who had his hands crossed in front of his face and returned his gaze rather bewilderedly.

"I'm aware of that fact, commander. I know it's a rather questionable matter on the whole, that's why I came here first thing in the morning."

His commander nodded, leaning back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"The criminal the Military Police has been searching for for months… is a lad of little size…?"

Irvin nodded, crossing his hands in front of his stomach without lifting his elbows off the arm rests.

"He might be. After having seen him fight I have a strong feeling that it could be him they're searching for."

Zacklay nodded slowly, frowning at Irvin.

"Then why not handing him over? He murdered people, Irvin, I don't see the point in covering him up."

Irvin knew that the boy's fate was going to be decided here. Even though he didn't know his name or where he was to be found exactly Irvin had seen his face – and if his commander decided not to trust his judgment he would have to give it to the Military Police. As much as he wanted his plan to work he wouldn't risk his commanders trust – he knew his place in this system and he belonged with the Military, to serve his cause was still his top priority.

When he spoke, his voice was very serious and clear. He knew that he had his commander's full attention as Zacklay did value his opinion highly.

"He defended himself against people stealing from him and ended up killing them. The outcome is no difference but I need to point out that he's not evil. He didn't kill for fun or money, he killed for two pieces of bread. He's a kid that probably has been forced to become a criminal in order to stay alive."

Zacklay looked at him and sighed, shaking his head.

"That is a very sad picture indeed, but things like that happen every day. I still don't see the necessity to make such a fuss about an arbitrary boy. Taking him into Military training in the middle of a turn and never have him convicted for the crimes he has committed? That is very audacious, Irvin. Why do you go to such extents?"

Irvin looked at him, thinking about his words before mouthing them. He was aware of the fact that what he was doing could be negative to his authenticity and his reputation, but IF his plan worked… he was sure that his audacity wouldn't be in vain.

"Because I've seen the spirit of a warrior. I've seen his indestructible will to survive, I've seen stubbornness, his complete lack of fear, quick thinking, ability to adapt fast and cleverly. He possesses everything that would make him a great soldier. We need men like this, more than anything."

Zacklay looked at him, contemplating him and his words silently for several seconds. Irvin held his gaze, being fully convinced of what he had just said.

The other man finally reacted, leaning back in his chair.

"Irvin, you know that I genuinely trust your knowledge of human nature and your ability to read people, that is the only reason why I haven't informed the Military Police right away. But… isn't this all a little too vague? Did he say anything about even wanting to join?"

Irvin still looked at him steadily, he had no intention on backing down. He also had the strong urge to fight until he was sure there was no hope left.

"We didn't talk about it but I'm sure that he's thinking about a lot of things right now. All I know for sure is that it would be a waste of capability to just let him rot in prison. One criminal off the street and working for the cause of humanity sounds so much better to me."

Zacklay was silent again, watching him closely. Irvin endured it again, hoping intently that he was somehow reaching his commander.

"Did you… agree on meeting again or something? How is he supposed to join if you don't know where he is?"

Irvin smiled just a little bit.

"I think he will come to see me."

Zacklay stared at him for a second then shook his head and sighed.

"Irvin, I have no idea what it is that you're scheming in that clever head of yours but… I've trusted on your opinion so often before and have never been deceived. Whatever you think you will gain from all this, you've got my permission to try it."

A colossal wave of relief crashed through him when he heard those words and his smile brightened when his commander raised a hand.

"With certain conditions. I'll give you full responsibility for the boy, you arrange his getting into a trainee squad - and you report to me regularly, of course. If something goes terribly wrong it will fall back to me as the commander. I give him a little time to prove himself – and if he fails to live up to our expectations I'll hand him over to the Military Police for them to do whatever they want with him. Are you alright with this?"

Irvin didn't have to think about it for long, he nodded. It sounded fair – if the boy didn't turn out the way Irvin wanted him to then he was d'accord with him going to prison. He just wanted to have the boy given a chance – and he would see that he took it.

He got up from his chair and bowed to his commander.

"I am. I'm very grateful for your trust, I deeply appreciate it."

Zacklay nodded and for the first time since he had wished him a good morning the man smiled.

"I wouldn't have appointed you my corporal if I didn't feel ready to listen to your ideas and opinion, the great strategist that you are. I just hope that this boy is worth your trust, Irvin."

He returned his smile and saluted to his commander.

"Thank you, Dallis. I'll report to you as soon as I have news in that matter. I'll turn to my duties now, I've already cost you enough of your time."

Zacklay smiled and waved him off, also standing up to get his jacket as he was about to leave as well.

"I've always got time for the case of humanity." He winked at Irvin und he had to smile, knowing that his commander was taking him serious, "See you in the meeting later."

Irvin nodded and left his superiors office, feeling relieved and filled with a more positive kind of tension. That was done, surroundings were created – now it all depended on the boy – and the quality of the inception he had made.

* * *

I'm sorry that this chapter turned out to be so short but I rather portion the chapters because of its content and not the amount of words. The next will be longer, I promise! XD

Hope you enjoyed reading this!


	4. Chapter 4

Attachment

Author: Cigamina

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin

Protagonists: Irvin Smith and Levi are the main focus

Part: 4/?

Warnings: violence , foul language

Rating: will be M

Disclaimer: Characters unfortunately aren't mine, therefore no money-making~ XDDD

Notes: Not too much yet, story starts a few years before the plot in the anime/manga evolves, in year 835.

Please forgive me for making so many mistakes, English is not my native language and I'm sure you will find plenty of mistakes in there! _

Songs I heard while writing the story below:

Flying Steps – In da arena

Music Instructor – Rock your body (Brainbug Remix)

Schiller – Schiller

**Have fun reading! 3**

* * *

Attachment– Chapter 4

#############

The sun had long sunk below the horizon and he had ignited the lamps in his temporary office, submerging the bleak room in flickering, warm light. He was sitting at his desk, reading through a file that had been delivered to him not long ago. At was actually very interesting to read as it contained an essay-like text about titans, assumptions were being made and ideas had been written down, Irvin was rather impressed. The author, a Hanji Zoe, seemed to have given the things she wrote there a lot of thought. The woman was a few years younger than Írvin and a part of the Recon Corps – he didn't know her personally but she seemed very capable to him from what he read in the file. Hanji Zoe had dedicated herself to the study of titans and Irvin had been rather delighted to hear about it, requesting her essays right away. He, and he was sure that Hanji Zoe agreed whole-heartedly with him, was certain that they had to study the titans a lot more to learn about them, they would never find their weaknesses and habits of they didn't start watching them closely.

Maybe he should meet up with Hanji Zoe once he was back at their main quarters, he would arrange for that once he had caught up with the work that he was sure was already piling on his desk at the headquarters. Being away for a week indicated night-shifts during the next.

He looked up and put the file to the side, rubbing at his eyes. He had been reading all the time ever since returning from meeting up with his sister – and it was about 4 hours later already. The clock had just indicated that it was way past 11 already.

Irvin sighed and seriously contemplated just going to bed, he had done all the work he could do while being here and he felt tired so he probably should take up on the opportunity. He knew that once he got past being tired he would be awake for another few hours without any chance to fall asleep then – so maybe going to bed now was not an entirely bad idea.

He got up and stretched, moving his head to the left and to the right to make his bones crack before pushing the files littering his desk together, attempting at making his chaos appear… less chaotic.

It was already two days since he had met the boy on the street – and he hadn't heard of him since then. Part of him was a little concerned but he had told the boy how long he would stay here – and chances were high that IF the boy came to see him it would be on his very last day here. Or night to be more precise because Irvin didn't think the boy would just tell the guards watching the front door to take him to the commander. No, if he came he would more likely try to get in unnoticed – which Irvin didn't think he could manage as he had told the guards to watch out for him.

That concerned part of him nagged at him a little but he fought it off. There was no sense in worrying – if the boy really didn't come he wasn't worth the trouble.

Irvin was just about to take off his jacket as he heard voices outside of his door, loud voices, and a few of them. Wondering what the ruckus was about he frowned and went over to his door to open it, peering into the corridor that was lit by oil lamps from his doorframe. And he felt a smile tug on his lips when he saw four man walking down the corridor, three of them handling the forth one that was distinctively shorter and resisting greatly.

"Let go of me you shitty bastards, LET THE FUCK GO I'll kill you the moment I-"

"A very good evening to you, too."

Irvin leaned against the doorframe, crossed his arms in front of his chest and smiled at the men that had almost reached. The boy had stilled upon hearing his voice and blue eyes were staring at him, his face that had been contorted with rage relaxed a little.

"Tell them to let me the fuck go!"

Irvin turned his attention to the guards, looking them up and down.

"Is somebody hurt?"

He had briefed the guards that there might be somebody trying to get into the headquarters unnoticed and that they had to be very careful because said person didn't look like it but was probably going to do anything it took to free himself.

One of the guards sneered und pointed at the boy with his chin.

"Nah, as we knew what we were facing he didn't stand a chance. Kicked me in the shins, though."

The boy sputtered and struggled against the three men and Irvin sighed, raising a hand.

"Let him go, then. Thanks for your alertness, I appreciate it greatly."

He had also ordered them to bring the intruder to him directly, no need to bother the commander in the middle of the night, and that he was not to be hurt no matter what. What he needed the least was to increase the boy's grudge against the Military even more.

The soldiers did as Irvin had told them and released the writhing boy. Irvin took a step back and opened the door a little wider, causing the boy to glower at him. Blue eyes flickered along the corridor, obviously searching for exits and possibilities to flee, and Irvin waited. The boy had come here on his free will whatever his intentions might have been, fleeing now didn't make any sense. And Irvin knew that the boy also knew that.

In the end the boy sped past him into his office, huffing and glaring at him. Irvin chuckled and looked at the three guards, one of them holding a bundle out to him.

"He carried that with him, corporal."

Irvin took the bundle of cloth, knowing what it was and smiled at the men.

"Thank you. You may return to your duties. But please stop by the kitchen and tell somebody to bring some soup and bread." He was sure that the boy was hungry – and soup was a perfect start into regular nourishment. People not having eaten properly for a while had a hard time handling more food as their stomachs needed time to adjust to the change. Giving them rich and greasy food right away would only make them sick to their stomachs.

The three guards saluted and returned to their positions, leaving Irvin alone with the boy. He closed the door and turned around, looking for the younger one for a moment – and found him standing close to the window, arms crossed in front of his chest. He was returning his gaze, blue eyes were glowering at him and Irvin smiled.

"You came." He pointed out the obvious, masking his excitement and still lingerie feeling or surprise perfectly. Irvin went over to hang his cloak up onto the coat rack and then returned to his desk, sitting down in his Spartan chair. He was aware of the blue eyes following him around and he looked back at them once he was seated. The expression in them had settled into the bored look he had given Irvin before, seeming entirely uninterested in everything. The tension in his body was giving him away though, the terror of having been caught and dragged off was still clinging to him.

"You're very clever."Irvin smirked and watched the boy's eyes flicker through the room, taking in his surroundings. Maybe checking for exits again. "I came to give back your cloak."

Irvin smiled and inclined his head, lifting one leg to place his ankle onto the other leg's knee, making himself comfortable and showing the other that he wouldn't hinder him do anything.

"That's very considerate of you. How is the wound?"

He hoped that it hadn't become inflamed… it didn't seem to hurt too much as the boy moved around with only a minimal limping to his stride.

"It's fine."

The boy finished his inspection of the sparsely furnished room, returning his gaze to Irvin and arching one of his thin eyebrows.

"That's not much of a fancy room… you're really the corporal?"

Irvin chuckled und put his hands into his lap.

"I am. I'm sorry to disenthrall your expectations but pomp in military quarters is very limited. In addition this is just an emergency quarter that we get to stay in for a few days; at the head quarters I'm the proud owner of a couch, a bookshelf and a painting."

The boy snorted and threw a glance over his shoulder, out of the window before returning it to Irvin.

"Sounds impressive." His voice was as bored as before, his blue eyes not giving anything away. Now that he was done showering people with insults he appeared to be very composed and Irvin took it as a new challenge to break through the act. He wasn't just here for returning the cloak, as much as he wanted to make him believe that. He could have let it at the doorstep or handed it over to one of the guards if he wasn't here to talk to Irvin.

Blue eyes rested on him, narrowing just the slightest bit when he spoke up again.

"You told them about me, right? They knew I was coming."

Smart boy, Irvin thought to himself. Being the skilled criminal he was he might have been able to sneak in unnoticed (after all who would want to break into a Military quarter?) as it usually wasn't guarded heavily – but with guards on the watch out and patrolling the corridors he didn't have a chance. Besides members of the Scouting Legion were in average stronger even than other soldiers as they fought much more and the boy had thus faced opponents that were much stronger than what he was used to.

Smiling at him he gestured for him to take the seat on the other side of the desk.

"Yes."

He shot him a glare, his brows furrowed and he made no move to join Irvin at the desk, choosing to stubbornly stand by the window.

"You didn't know I was coming."

No… he didn't. He had hoped he would but he wouldn't tell him. He merely smiled, not intent on starting an argument.

"I told them there might be somebody trying to sneak in. I thought that was more your style than just giving the cloak to one of the guards to pass it on to me."

Blue eyes were still glaring daggers at him and Irvin held his gaze, not about to lose this staring contest. The boy eventually huffed and looked to the side for a moment and set to say something when there was a knock on the door. He tensed and fixed the door with alarmed eyes, obviously not keen on the prospect of more company. Irvin got up from his chair and walked over to the door, opening it and finding the expected sight before him: an elderly woman that was looking at him tiredly, the guards had probably stirred her from her slumber. She was holding a tray in her hands with the ordered soup and bread on it, gazing at him. Irvin smiled sympathetically and took the tray from her hands, bowing to her slightly.

"I strongly apologize for troubling you in the middle of the night. I won't make it a habit, I promise. Thank you."

The woman laughed a little and returned the bow, waving him off.

"I've been through worse, corporal. Don't work too much, it's already late."

She actually patted his cheek and then turned to walk down the corridor, leaving Irvin with the tray. He blinked and shook his head a little, returned into his office and kicked the door shut carefully. Walking back to his desk and placing the tray down on the polished surface he shot the boy at his window another look, smiling at him.

"Maybe taking a seat seems a little more appealing now?"

It didn't take the blue eyes long to analyze the situation, taking in the big bowl of soup and the two smaller ones, obviously Irvin wasn't the only one supposed to eat. And it took him even less long to stalk across the room, dropping onto the chair on Irvin's opposite and grabbing for one of the bowls hungrily. He started immediately, inhaling the thick soup rather than just eating it. Irvin pushed the small basket of bread over to the boy and it was plundered just as mercilessly, the bread and the soup disappeared in the boy's belly faster than Irvin had ever seen anyone eat. On the other hand… he hadn't ever seen anybody almost starved to death. At least not this close, at the same table as he was sitting at. He was looking at the other in amazement, eating a little from his own share of soup. He wasn't really hungry, he had eaten when meeting his sister even though that had already been a few hours ago. Usually he didn't stay up that long, he rather was a morning-person. He liked being up early when the rest of the headquarters was still asleep, providing him a few hours of peace and quiet where he could get some work done.

The boy was still shoveling food into his mouth and Irvin started wondering where the boy all stuffed it. And came to the conclusion that it didn't matter, he just ate as long as he had the opportunity.

Irvin leaned back in his chair, neglecting his half-empty bowl.

"If you don't stop soon you're going to be sick. You shouldn't stress your stomach right away."

Blue eyes shot him a glare. "I don't care."

Figured. Irvin cocked his head to the side a little, crossing his legs at his ankles below the desk.

"How long has it been since you really ate the last time?"

The boy didn't need to search for an answer very long.

"Never?"

Made sense, though… if he had been living on the streets and stealing his food for a while, maybe years… he had never really had the opportunity to eat as much as he wanted or to take his time with eating, enjoying it. He had eaten to stay alive, no matter where the food came from or what it was. He nodded and watched him a little longer, it didn't take him long to just finish everything that had been on the tray. Irvin even pushed his own bowl over for the boy to finish if he wanted to – and of course the boy did. Irvin just hoped that his stomach would handle bread and soup in that quantity… it should be used to bread but hot food with proteins in it was a different matter. He would just hope for the best.

"Would you tell me your name?"

He had noticed at some point that he had never asked for it and it got tiresome to only think of him as 'the boy'.

The boy looked up from the bowl he was just finishing and paused for a moment, eying Irvin warily. He held his gaze until the boy lowered his eyes, shifting his attention back to the soup.

"… Rivai."

Irvin smiled and then frowned, finding the name the boy had given him a little strange. There was something about the way he pronounced it that was a little odd. When he thought about it, the way the boy spoke was a little odd altogether. He hadn't really thought about it yet because he had just assumed that it was due to the boy living on the streets, that altering his language. But… he was doing something with the R-sound that Irvin couldn't even pronounce. He tried, though, vocally.

"Li… Leva-i."

Blue eyes stared at him and he set the bowl and spoon aside, a scowl settling on his face.

"Why can't you people pronounce it properly? Riii-vaaiii. It's not so hard, really."

It was hard, though. Making a sound that usually wasn't needed in a language was something that needed practice and time. Irvin wondered where he got his name from and why the boy knew how to pronounce the sound properly. And came to only one possible conclusion.

"You weren't born here, am I right? The pronunciation and the way you speak… it reminds me of the people around Karanese district. Have you immigrated here?"

The frown on the boy's face even deepened and he leaned back on the chair, placing his hands on his stomach that was BOUND to hurt. After having eaten so much in so little time Irvin was just waiting for him to be sick.

"…how am I supposed to know? I've been here as long as I can think."

Irvin nodded and thought for a minute, inclining his head a little.

"And how long is that?"

The black-haired boy shrugged and pulled his legs up, curling up in the chair. Irvin mused it that position was comfortable, it had never occurred to him to sit a chair like that. Blue eyes flickered around his office again, looking at nothing in particular.

"I don't know. I've carved something into… a column for every spring that I've seen. To… keep track."

He couldn't help but feel a dull stab to his heart when listening to the boy's words. His voice was indifferent, nothing in it gave away that he was bothered by the fact that he had… carved a sign into a column for each passing year instead of celebrating his birthday, getting presents. He had most likely been all alone for years. That… was bitter. And it meant… that he didn't know his exact age.

"And how many have that been?"

Blue eyes shot him a glance before wandering around the sparse room again.

"11."

Irvin nodded, putting the pieces of information he had gathered together in his head.

"So… you might be around 15, 16 maybe."

The boy shrugged again and watched Irvin when he reached below his desk, conjuring two cups and a clay jug from there. He poured them each a cup of water and the boy reached for it, drinking it at once.

"Maybe."

Irvin refilled his cup and put the jug to the side, taking a sip of his own water.

"You've always been living out there? Alone?"

It still seemed like a miracle to him… how the boy lived through years on the street without somebody looking after him. 11 years plus some years when he had been too young to remember them… that was an awful long time spend alone. He was very, very lucky to have survived.

A thin black eyebrow was arched and he shook his head a little, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Do I look like somebody's spoiled brat to you?"

Irvin looked at him, taking another sip from his cup.

"Not exactly, no." He looked like somebody who had been alone for a lot of time, mistrusting everybody and seeing them as enemies. Irvin had achieved quite a lot, gaining a little of the boy's trust. He had, the black-haired boy would have never come to him if he didn't somehow think that Irvin wasn't worth his trust.

He looked at the boy, thinking that he just didn't look his age… he still looked like 12 to him, small and haggard and unkempt as he was.

"What did you come here for, Levai?" He still didn't have an answer to that, but he was very interested in hearing what the boy had to say.

He shot Irvin a glare and then rolled his eyes.

"RIVAI."

Irvin tried it again, silently, and failed. He couldn't pronounce it correctly in his head and much less with his mouth. So…

"…I'll just stick to Levi, okay?"

Another glare was thrown at him but for some reason if softened a little after a while.

"Fine."

A little surprised that the alteration of his name was just accepted without any protest Irvin smiled softly. Back to the topic of his interest.

" What are you here for?"

Levi rolled his eyes and unfolded from his position on the chair, placing his dirty naked feet back onto the wooden floor. Once again his eyes went wandering through the room, Irvin's desk and the things littering it seemed to have caught his attention this time.

"I came to return the cloak."

Irvin watched him, suspected that the blue eyes tried to encipher words and numbers written on some of the papers on his desk – but then it occurred to him that Levi most likely didn't know how to read. Having spent all his life on the streets caused lacking education, of course.

"You did that quite successfully."

Levi shot him a glance and tugged a strand of dirty black hair behind his ear.

"Yeah…" His files seemed to have caught his attention, his eyes were brushing over them. Irvin was a very diligent man… but it wasn't showing on his desk. He always had some kind of… chaotic order in the places he worked, always finding what he needed – but to the eyes of others there were just sheets and files littering his desk. Thin lips were pressed together for a moment before the boy spoke up. "What are these?"

He sounded genuinely curious and Irvin decided to answer his question even though he was aware of the fact that Levi had once again changed the subject when he had asked him for his reason to be here.

"They're reports."

A thin eyebrow was arched in his direction and the boy leaned forward a little.

"About?"

Irvin cocked his head to the side, letting his own eyes roam over the stacks of paper, folders, quills and ink.

"About about everything. I need to look at quite a lot of things, read and stamp, give my approval or decline, file my own reports for my superiors. It's quite a lot of paperwork actually."

"Sounds thrilling." Levi nodded and his eyes fastened on Hanji's essay.

"What's this?"

Which didn't surprise Irvin at all, the folder was flipped open and its pages were decorated with little drawings when Hanji wanted to make something visibly clear. Of course that would catch Levi's attention the most.

"It's something one of my soldiers wrote, a collection of information about titans that she put together during her research. That's indeed rather thrilling I have to say."

He nodded slowly and let his eyes roam over the untidy handwriting before looking up at Irvin.

"So… you don't just kill titans?"

Irvin inclined his head a little, still willing to answer the boy's questions. He showed a genuine interest in the whole matter and he took that as a good sign. If he was really interested in signing up for the military he would have to do a whole bunch of learning anyway. This year's trainees had already been in their camps for a couple of months by then.

"The term 'just kill titans' is not the coherent one, I'm afraid. You don't just kill titans… they're rather hard to kill as they have very little weaknesses. But no, we run a lot of research during the missions outside of the walls, trying to get as much information as we can possible get. We're named recon corps for a reason – instead of… elite titan-killing legion or something."

The boy nodded slowly and pulled up one leg to tuck it underneath him, taking in another position that Irvin had never even considered taking when sitting on a chair.

"So you go outside and many people die… and sometimes you don't even kill a single titan?"

Blue eyes were watching him intently and just like two nights ago Irvin was a little amazed about how Levi's brain worked. He was quick-thinking and Irvin genuinely liked that. Whatever had happened to him on the streets for all these years it hadn't cauterized his mind.

"That happens, yes. It's unlikely as we don't get round meeting titans the moment we step out of the gates and mostly we have to kill them to not get eaten; but back when we didn't really know how to kill a titan it was grim reality."

The fatality rate of the scouting legion had even been higher than it was now. With finding their ultimate weak spot they had advanced a lot on their way to free mankind from suppression – and yet it didn't get less dangerous to face them.

Levi watched him again like he was processing everything that Irvin said and put the knowledge somewhere in his mind. Maybe he was doing just that or Irvin was lead by a strong wish that the boy really did.

"Hm… what are they like?"

Titans seemed to become the topic of their meeting today – but Irvin didn't mind at all. He took another sip of his water.

"They're huge, they're mostly grinning and they chase after you the moment they smell you. Their bodies are very hot, making our blades go dull when cutting through their flesh. They ignore about everything except for human beings, as far as we can tell we are their only food. They're terrifying and we still have to learn so much about them."

Levi nodded slowly to himself, was silent for a minute. When he spoke up again he was looking directly at Irvin, keeping his voice just as indifferent and unattached as before.

"Terrifying… are you afraid of them?"

It didn't take Irvin long to answer his question, having answered that a lot of times before. But that was something he didn't really have to think about, it just rolled off his tongue naturally because he really meant it the way he said it.

"No. It would be a lie to say that I don't feel any apprehension when facing them but it's not fear filling me."

Nobody could face a titan without feeling anything, Irvin was convinced of that. It was just the question if you let yourself be swamped by fear or stay calm and deal with the situation rationally. That was what he did, the moment panic clawed at you it was most likely over.

Levi watched his eyes intently, maybe searching for signs of Irvin lying to him, but he wouldn't find any.

"What are their weaknesses?"

Irvin smiled, Levi really did a great job luring him away from the question that was still unanswered. And still managed to stay genuinely curious.

"They only have a few. The problem is that no matter which part of them you hurt or even cut off, it regenerates. You can blind their eyes to make targeting them less dangerous, you can cut their Achilles tendon to slow them down or even make them fall but then you have to be very quick to take them out as they'll heal within seconds. And the only way to kill them is to cut out a large piece of flesh from their neck."

That made the boy frown, he eyed Irvin up and down and then cocked his head to the side a little.

"And how… do you get up there? Or do you make every single titan fall to cut its neck?"

Irvin smiled and pointed over to where he had placed his 3D-manoeuver gear on the floor, ready to be put on in instants if the situation required it.

"That's why we have that."

The frown creasing his forehead only deepened and he looked back and forth between the direction Irvin had motioned to and Irvin himself. Eventually he got up from his chair and went over to the weapon, eying it cautiously. Irvin joined him there, catching the boy's eyes when he looked at him curiously.

"And how does it work?"

Irvin pondered just how detailed he wanted to talk about the 3D-maneuver gear – it was a military weapon and civilians shouldn't be made familiar with its employment, for various reasons. But… he still believed that the boy had come here for a reason that night… and in that case he could tell him exactly how the weapon worked.

He decided to spill, in the end. He explained the whole functioning of the gear, what the wires where there for, the gas, why they needed to carry several blades with them, how they moved when having switched to 3D-maneuver gear, how it was attached to their uniform.

In the end he had the boy staring at the weapon that looked more or less unimposing when it wasn't used.

"That sounds… very complicated."

He chuckled and put the weapon back down, returning to his chair at the desk and expecting Levi to do the same.

"We don't train our recruits for the whole of three years for no reason. A big part of the training is getting familiar with using the 3D-manoeuver gear – even though most people won't use it after graduation."

He watched the boy when he moved over to the window, sitting down on the broad window sill while Irvin spoke. Blue eyes looked at him sharply when he heard the last few words.

"Why is that?"

Irvin helped himself to another cup of water.

"The 3D-manoever gear was exclusively designed for killing titans. The Military Police and the Stationary Guard don't face titans as their jurisdiction in within the walls. Every soldier carrying the gear within the walls needs special permission to do so. It's mostly the scouting legion carrying them when traversing a city on their way outside."

Levi nodded in understanding and tugged his legs underneath him. He seemed to get more comfortable in the room, Irvin noticed. He had his attention fixed on Irvin the whole time, not caring about finding possible emergency exits and such.

"The trainees choose their branch of the military at the end of their training?" "How many join the scouting legion?"

He almost sighed upon hearing his question, the situation regarding that was a little problematic to put it mildly.

"Knowing the fatality rate of the Recon Corps most soldiers prefer to join the Stationary Guard. To get into the Military Police is rather difficult as only the first 10 of a trainee squad are given the chance to join. Given that most of them choose the safer alternative."

While he didn't want people not entirely convinced of their choice in the scouting legion because it would only cost them and maybe others their lives – as harsh as it might have sounded, he didn't need people who felt obliged or pressured to join the recon corps, he needed people who WANTED to be there and give everything they could – it wouldn't hurt for them to have more supply, given the fact that most people joining the scouting legion didn't last long.

"Who would want to stay near nobles and the king anyway…"

That muttered thought of the boy caught his interest. It wasn't too surprising that the boy didn't like nobles and their kind too much because in his eyes those were people who had everything while he and many others had to deal with hunger and poverty everyday– but there was something to his words that he found astonishing.

Irvin looked at him, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"People who prefer leading a safe live without having to fear death every day."

The boy snorted and leaned back against the glass, his thin eyebrows furrowed.

"Such cowardly pricks."

Irvin watched him, thinking about what he said. While it wasn't Irvin's place to judge other people's decisions the boy just spoke his mind freely. And quite clearly… it didn't matter if Irvin approved of people's decision on which branch to choose, even if he had an opinion about it he would keep it to himself. Each soldier needed to choose what he was comfortable with and how he wanted to spend his life, it was a fundamental right to do so and as he was occupying a high position he wouldn't say anything – he didn't need to as his choice of branch already expressed enough.

But the boy's intensity in the way he spoke surprised him – and he liked it. Because he was recognizing a pattern of thinking that he found within himself – less aggressively.

"You think it's cowardly to preserve your own life?"

Blue eyes stared at him, and for the first time that night Irvin saw something burn in them. They had glowered with fury, mistrust, pain two nights ago, but in that moment… it was different. There was a certain determination to them, a rock-solid conviction that Irvin couldn't quite place yet. But he was sensing where they were heading.

"I think it's cowardly to hide and let other people die for me. It's cowardly to watch them fight without helping. Nothing can be changed without sacrifices and people who're ready to risk everything."

He was silent for a while, just looking at Levi intently. A smile tugged on his lips, a most sincere one as there were real emotions altering his features.

"That does suspiciously sound like something I said two nights ago."

It did. There was only one conclusion to all of his even if Irvin was still threading around it carefully.

Blue eyes watched him, the burning in his eyes quickly replaced with his usual bored expression.

"Aren't you smart."

Irvin unfolded his arms and put them on his desk, still watching the boy. Maybe it was time to finally name it, confirming that his expectations were not wrong and that he had done right when inspiring the boy two nights ago.

"So… I take it that, apart from the returning of my cloak, you came here for another reason."

Blue eyes narrowed and shot him a glare but it didn't last long, Levi lowered his gaze and plucked at a thread on his sleeve.

"… three meals a day sounds very good."

The smile on Irvin's features widened and he couldn't help but chuckle. That was all the confirmation he needed; his plan was a success.

He addressed him again, feeling the need to remind him that this decision was a rather meaningful one as it would most likely change the whole course of his life. And that was not to be taken lightly.

"Did you think about it thoroughly? It's a decision that will influence your-"

Levi shot him another glare and unfurled on the windowsill, putting his feet back to the floor.

"Don't make me change my mind." He actually fidgeted for a few moments, for once at a loss of a smart remark. The situation just didn't call for one. "It's not as if I had better things to do."

Irvin smiled at him and got up from his chair, walking over to the boy. Due to his size Irvin towered over him, making the haggard boy look up at him. It failed to slip his perception that he didn't back off at all, holding Irvin's gaze evenly. He held out his hand for Levi to take it.

"I'm glad to hear it. I welcome you to the military, then."

There was a little hesitation to the movement but Levi did take his hand, sealing their contract. And Irvin couldn't help but feel delighted about it all. Because his strategy had worked out just the way he had wanted it to, and because he might have preserved the boy's life for the next few years to come – and because he had, if the boy turned out the way he expected him to, gained a great soldier for their fight against the titans.

Irvin let go of his hand and smiled, thinking through how he should proceed further. There were some things that needed to be done even if the night had advanced a lot.

"We need to go see my commander, he's already waiting for news upon you. But before that-"

He was cut off when the boy jumped off the windowsill, glowering at him and clenching his fists.

"You told him? Damn you, you didn't even know I was coming! I'd just-"

Irvin didn't even let him get into his tirade, he raised a hand and returned the favour of cutting his words.

"I merely took precautions for the case of you showing up. Makes it easier to explain why I would want to take a civilian with us when we leave Hermiha in a few days, don't you think?"

He quieted the boy successfully.

"…"

Irvin nodded and continued, the boy would have to cut back on his habit to speak whenever he wanted, especially when dealing with a superior. But that wasn't Irvin's to take care of, he would learn quite a lot about discipline in his military training. His job was to take him there – and maybe prepare him as well as he could.

"But we need to get you tidied up first. Follow me, I'll show you the bathroom."

The boy stared at him when Irvin walked past him, he could feel his eyes on his back as he crossed the room. But he assumed the boy would follow him when he opened the door leading to his private quarters. He had his own bathroom connected to the small room where he slept, one of the few luxuries his position came along with.

The boy had indeed followed him, eying the new room warily when he crossed it. Irvin showed him the sparse bathroom, including a toilet, a sink and a tub. Nothing fancy but it had all the things needed.

Irvin turned to leave Levi alone when he caught the wary look on the boys face, causing to gaze curiously at the boy. Blue eyes stared at the door, than up to Irvin.

"There's no way to lock it."

He frowned a little and couldn't stifle a laugh, amused by the fact that a boy that most likely hadn't seen the insides of a bathroom for a decade would ask for that much privacy. Usually (and Irvin suspected that he had indeed done that because he didn't know any other way to wash when not living in some kind of house (and the boy wasn't as dirty and smelly as he would have been when not having washed for over a decade)) he wouldn't be able to lock anything when he washed in the river that traversed the town.

Keeping his thoughts to himself he just smiled at the boy.

"I usually don't need to. Don't worry, I'll watch the door."

There might have been the tiniest tinge of sarcasm to his voice but the boy caught it, shooting him a nasty glare for it. He was about to slam the bathroom's door into his face when Irvin walked over to the wardrobe, pulling out a stack of clothing and handed it to the stunned boy.

"Here, I hope they're about your size. I didn't know exactly and got them relying on my visual judgement."

This time the boy did slam the door into Irvin's face and he grinned a little to himself before leaving the room. He knew why the boy was so worked up – but he would have to learn to cope with it. With the knowledge that he was here because Irvin wanted him to be. He was here because Irvin had decided that Levi belonged here – and had somehow managed to manipulate the boy into coming here all by himself. He had to be furious… and Irvin was certainly hoping that Levi was going to turn all his pent-up frustration against the titans.

He went back to his desk and pulled Hanji's essay towards him, continuing his lecture of her research. He would wait for the boy to clean up (he was sure that would take a while) and then they would go see Dallis Zacklay.

* * *

Ouf… that was a hard one. 8DDDDD

They're both just so talkative… |D

Next chapter is coming up very soon, I just have to finish the last few paragraphs!

I hope you enjoyed reading! XD


	5. Chapter 5

Attachment

Author: Cigamina

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin

Protagonists: Irvin Smith and Levi are the main focus

Part: 5/?

Warnings: violence , foul language

Rating: will be M

Disclaimer: Characters unfortunately aren't mine, therefore no money-making~ XDDD

Notes: Not too much yet, story starts a few years before the plot in the anime/manga evolves, in year 835.

Please forgive me for making so many mistakes, English is not my native language and I'm sure you will find plenty of mistakes in there! _

Songs I heard while writing the story below:

Christian Toth - Minimal Set 2013

Flying Steps – In da arena

Music Instructor – Rock your body (Brainbug Remix)

Schiller – Schiller

Attachment– Chapter 5

Dumping a bucket of warm water over his head made him sigh, it felt good to have the warm water run along his skin, down his body. He raised his hands to run his hands over his face, opening his eyes and combing back his black hair. He felt the distinctive urge to fill the tub with steaming hot water and soak in it for some time but knew that he couldn't relax enough to enjoy it. Being restless already he used his hands to squeeze some of the water out of his hair and moved to neatly put away all the things he had used. That done with he walked over to where he had spotted a stack of clean towels and grabbed one.

Not really knowing how to use a bathroom he had figured it out after a while, filled a bucket of water, heated it, taken the bar of soap and started to wash. Sitting down on the stool had made it easier to reach all parts of him and he had been very diligent. He had spent a big amount of time scrubbing the layers of dirt off his skin, washing it from his hair, plucking at the black crud that had settled firmly underneath his fingernails. He had been careful around the newest wound; his feet had been the worst but he managed to clean them to his satisfaction. Neither did he know how much time he had needed nor how much water he had used but the urge to clean himself had overwhelmed him at some point. One of the worst things in living on the streets had always been the feeling of being dirty; it was so much worse than being hungry or lonely.

He toweled himself off, using the towel to rub down his hair a little. Knowing that the thick mane of black hair wouldn't dry for a while he didn't bother trying, folding the towel neatly when he was done and placed it onto the lavatory for now. He turned to the stack of clothing that he had placed on top of the little commode that held the towels – and couldn't help but glare at them, the thoughts he had been keeping at bay finally returning to him. He just couldn't ignore them any longer, not when he slipped into clothing that somebody had bought for him (he was cursing him for his brilliant visual judgement), in a bathroom that had been placed at his disposal, in a military garrison that he always had tiptoed around or stayed far away from, if possible.

He couldn't believe that he really actually was here. Maybe this was all a crazy dream, maybe he was having a fever again and being in a delirium caused by it. But as far as he could judge… this felt very real. The warm, clean clothes felt real, the wonderful aroma of clean soap that was clinging to him smelled real, the tiled bathroom looked real. And he didn't understand anything.

He had absolutely no idea how he had ended up here. Technically he had just walked here, been caught trying to get into the garrison unnoticed and dragged before the fucking corporal of the fucking Scouting Legion. But HOW did that happen…? He was at a complete loss about that. He just couldn't explain how he had gotten himself into his… and WHY.

This damn corporal… the manipulative shitty bastard that he was. He glared at nothing in particular and fastened the belt around his waist before bending down to put the pair of socks on his feet. He had done something to him… he had actually done a lot to him. He had patched him up after having been stabbed by one of those shitheads in that alleyway, he had given him his cloak, he had just stepped by the corpses of four men without saying anything about them, he was apparently covering up the fact that he very well knew who had killed those assholes. And all that being the fucking corporal of the Scouting Legion.

Levi had wanted to stab him so badly the moment he had recognized him for the soldier that he was. A good share of panic had been the main reason but he had felt betrayed – which was absolutely nuts as the feeling of betrayal based on the feeling of trust. To TRUST a man who just came by, witnessed him killing four men and then offered to patch him up, was nuts itself, it was fishy, it was suspicious. But there was just something about Irvin fucking Smith that had made him. Something about the way he talked, the way he acted, inspired this strange feeling in him, a feeling of knowing that this man meant no harm. That he was sincere in everything he was saying – even though he was being one hell of a manipulative shit.

He looked up and caught his own reflection in the mirror, pausing briefly when he did so. It had been some time since he had seen his reflection clearly – which he didn't mind at all, he didn't like looking at himself. Turning away from it he grabbed the pair of shoes that had come with the clothes, the rags that he had been wearing, the bandage and the used towel and left the bathroom after taking a close look around, making sure that he had tidied up and left everything clean. He had cleaned the place where he had washed off after that, not wanting to leave the place soiled.

He had really managed to make him come here he thought sourly when he slipped into the shoes that were just the slightest bit too big for him. Something in his probably very carefully chosen words had made him… he had inspired something in Levi that he couldn't quite place yet, but he had come here all by himself. Not to return this damn cloak, of course. Being his usual self he would have just kept it, laughing about the fact that it had been a soldier giving it to him. But somehow… he hadn't been his usual self for the past two days. He had been thinking; had been turning the man's words over and over in his head, couldn't get them out of his head. Apart from the fact that Irvin Smith had been the first person being nice to him in what felt like an eternity he had deeply impressed Levi, as much as he hated to admit it. He had always thought of the military as huge pricks in uniforms that were making his life even harder while they were eating fine food, sleeping in warm beds and basically doing nothing. He had known about the Scouting Legion but… somehow he hadn't imagined their job to be so… cruel, dangerous and hopeless?

And then he met corporal Irvin Smith of all people, the man who probably was their shining poster boy. His conviction and dedication was… he didn't want to call it admirable because that would reflect his opinion about him. He didn't need any opinions about him. He was the object of pride and sincerity, he knew what he was doing and what he wanted. His actions were not testing, they were calculated and there was not so much of a trace of coincidence to him.

Levi shook his head and straightened up, eying the door leading back into the corporal's office a little warily.

Something Irvin had said to him had intrigued him, had triggered something in him – which had made him come here. And agree to do military training… he could only shake his head to that. He might have gone crazy, eventually. But… somewhere, underneath his mind telling him that he was insane for even considering joining forces with an institution that he had deeply despised for the last 10 years or so, he felt grounded. As if another part of him approved his decision, feeling good about doing something that he considered useful. Irvin Smith had convinced him that it was something useful, maybe even necessary. He was far from Irvin's passionate dedication to free mankind, from dedicating himself to the military in a passionate sacrifice for the greater good – but he understood his dislike for being caged; and he considered somehow finding some kind of purpose in his being alive was worth a shot.

He straightened his shoulder and opened the door, stepping back into Irvin's office. He would see where his new-found will to make changes lead him – if he realized at some point that it wasn't his thing at all and that this unfamiliar urge to do strange things was due to a person who could talk you into about everything he could still go back, right? Being a criminal the Military Police wanted to arrest or being a deserted soldier the Military Police wanted to arrest didn't make that much of a difference.

The blond corporal sat at his desk, the folder with the collected information about the titans in his hands. He had changed at some point, the straps that came with the military's uniform were gone, the white pants replaced by brown ones that looked more comfortable. Blue eyes looked up at him when Levi entered the room and Irvin smiled, placing the folder onto the polished surface in front of him.

"I'm glad to see they fit."

He narrowed his eyes a little and moved closer, seeing the man's eyes looking him up and down.

"We can dispose of these later. That is, if you don't intend to keep them?"

Levi looked down at the rags in his arms and shook his head. Knowing that he couldn't wear them anymore he didn't need them but leaving them on the bathroom floor hadn't been an option, they were dirty and didn't belong there. As well as the towel and the used bandage that either needed to be washed or thrown away, he would ask about that-

"How's the wound? I hope it didn't get inflamed?"

…and they were right on topic. He shook his head again, pulling the bandage from the bundle he was carrying.

"What do I do with this?"

Irvin got up from his chair and walked around his desk, moving to stand in front of Levi and looking at him, still smiling.

"We'll deliver it to the room where the laundry is done, the ladies will take care of it in the morning. Do you need me to bandage your thigh again? It's a rather recent wound, after all."

Levi shook his head again, a little more frantically than he had wanted to. There was no way he would take anything off with people in the room, no matter who it was. It had been bad enough two nights ago but there he didn't really have a choice. He didn't need to feel any more vulnerable than he already did, thank you very much.

"No, it's fine."

Irvin frowned just the slightest bit but his features softened after a second, his lips splitting into another smile. Levi couldn't help but wonder if his smiles were really authentic, he did it way too often. They reached his eyes, though, he didn't fake them, and there certainly were several nuances to it. Levi found them unnerving – and strangely comforting at the same time.

"Just let me know when you need anything, you can have access to the whole medical range."

He couldn't help but roll his eyes, that was another thing he found unnerving – and unbearably confusing.

"Your consideration is going to kill you one day."

He was .nice. to be the Scouting Legion's corporal. That man really sent his soldiers out to meet the titans, knowing they most likely wouldn't return? Levi couldn't imagine him doing that. But… there had to be something about him, he wouldn't be corporal it there wasn't. Levi was very curious about what he was like when actually going outside, leading his men to fight the titans. Concluding from what Irvin had said he went outside there, too, fought alongside his soldiers and risked dying every time they left the safety of the walls.

The blond man still smiled but Levi noticed that it had gotten a little less bright. He was good at reading people, watching their reactions and body language closely. It was part of why he had survived for so long.

"Maybe. But my lacking consideration might kill _you_ if you take chances on getting blood poisoning too lightly and I'd rather that didn't happen."

He looked at the tall man, seeing that he was very serious about the whole matter. It confused him to no end, he wasn't used to be worried about. Levi didn't know if he liked the feelings it caused in him or not and as long as he didn't know he was suspicious about it all. As little as he understood himself at the moment he had absolutely no clue about Irvin Smith's intentions. Maybe that was what made him uncomfortable.

He finally chose to roll his eyes again but nodded, averting his eyes.

"It's fine. And I'll tell you when it stops being fine."

When he looked back up at the corporal he found him smiling, brighter again. Of course, he had given in in a way… Irvin Smith liked when he got what he wanted he thought while clenching his jaw a little.

"Good. We'll go see Dallis Zacklay now, that's my commander. I'm sure he'll still be up and he asked me to report to him as soon as I heard from you, so we'll fill him in on the newest events."

Something in his stomach twisted when he heard that he would be lead before another high-up of the military but he merely nodded. He had long discarded the thought of all this being a trap – it wouldn't make sense. Irvin Smith probably could have killed him two nights ago, he could have taken him to the Military Police to have him arrested. He simply didn't need to manipulate him into coming here on his free will if he wanted to hurt him/hand him over/whatever, he sure had better things to do than playing theater like that. So he took that seeing the commander was part of the protocol – if there was a protocol for criminals wanting to join the military just like that. He doubted it.

"Let's go, then."

Irvin motioned for Levi to follow him and he did so, falling in step behind the blond man. They walked through the building in silence, not meeting anyone. Most of the soldiers were sleeping, Levi assumed. He knew that the Scouting Legion party was here for just a few days so he took it that they had business to do around here. They weren't alert so two guards being around the entrance of the building was enough.

They took care of the things Levi was carrying, disposed of everything in a room that pleasantly smelled of soap. Then they walked on, went up a few stairs and passed another few doors before Irvin stopped in front of one of them, turning to face Levi. He looked up into the corporal's blue eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest in a defensive gesture, he didn't even think about it. But it made Irvin smile reassuringly and he was almost tempted to roll his eyes again.

"It's fine, this is just a formality."

He did roll his eyes at that.

"I'm not afraid of this. Let's just get it over with."

He wasn't. He was uncomfortable with the thought of seeing any more soldiers that night, especially the ones that were even higher ranked than Irvin and could cause him nasty trouble.

The blond man looked at him for a while and then nodded, turned to knock at his commander's door. Despite his words his heart leapt a little when he heard a deep voice say 'Come in, Irvin.' and the corporal opened the door. He motioned for Levi to follow him when he entered and he did so, bracing himself.

The room looked a lot like the room Irvin used as his office, it was as scarce and empty as the other one, the only furniture were a cupboard, a few chairs and a huge wooden desk. The commander was seated on a chair behind the desk, looking up from his work when Irvin and Levi entered the room. Levi thought he looked quite old, his hair was graying and his features lined. He was much older than Irvin was, that was for sure. Somehow Levi had imagined the man to… be a lot like Irvin? Tall, broad, muscular, energetic-looking? He knew that appearances were deceiving, he was the role-model for that, but somehow seeing the man calmed his nerves a little.

When the door closed behind him the sound had something terminal about it and he fought down the rising discomfort. Irvin moved to stand next to him, performing a gesture of salute.

"I apologize for bothering you in the middle of the night, Dallis, but I wanted to fill you in as promptly as possible."

Dallis Zacklay removed his reading glasses and his eyes were looking Levi up and down before he moved his gaze to Irvin, cocking his head to the side.

"He's even scrawnier than I had imagined him. And you're really sure this lad's capable of-"

His hand twitched for the knife that he had hidden underneath the belt he was wearing and his eyes narrowed, feeling his temper wear awfully short that night. "I'll give you a demonstration of what I'm capable of right here and now…" He muttered under his breath and his hand had almost reached his knife when he felt Irvin's hand settle on his shoulder, squeezing tightly. The blond man spoke up a second later, his voice as neutral as it mostly was when he was talking about business.

"He was saying that he'll do his best to prove himself."

Levi seethed at him and roughly shoved the large hand off his shoulder when he heard the commander chuckle. His eyes flickered from Irvin to the man sitting behind his desk, watching them.

"And he's just as nasty and insolent as I've pictured him."

He really reached for his knife this time and Irvin interfered again, stepping behind him and grabbing both of his shoulders this time to keep him from dashing over to Dallis Zacklay. He heard a muttered 'Relax.' from the corporal, about to stab Irvin first and then going to take his anger and frustration out on the commander when Zacklay spoke up.

"I've no idea what you see in him, Irvin, but I've already given you my assent and I won't take it back. Even though I hope that you know what you're doing… if you fail this might have a negative aftermath and be a blow to your reputation. He'd be all your responsibility, don't forget that. Are you really sure this is worth it?"

Levi stilled a little when he heard the commander's words, pointing out something that he hadn't thought of yet. The effects Irvin's doing had on the man himself.

The corporal's grip tightened a little but when he spoke his voice was calm, apparently unaffected by the severe words.

"It might be. I have already decided to take my chances, Dallis."

The commander looked at Irvin for another couple of seconds and then he nodded.

"Very well." He turned to Levi who was listening to their conversation intensely, trying to get a grip about what was going on. He had the feeling that there was more to the situation than Irvin had let on, to the complications behind it. "As for you, lad." Levi glared at him but refrained from trying to get his knife again. The commander's eyes were serious, his voice grave when he spoke up again. "I hope you seize this opportunity, and hold on to it as tightly as you can. It's the only chance you have – and your thankfulness towards corporal Irvin should be endless. Don't be a disappointment." He paused here to make sure that Levi was still listening. He was. "If you fail to live up to our expectations you'll be handed over to the Military Police without hesitation. You're still a criminal, your being spared condemnation would solely be generated by good conduct."

At his last words Levi went rigid and the corporal tightened his hands again, making sure Levi didn't go anywhere.

"If you don't mind I'd like to excuse us, Dallis. It's been a long day."

The commander nodded and leaned back in his chair.

"I think I've seen enough. Goodnight, Irvin. I just hope he won't make you fall."

"Goodnight, Dallis."

Levi was shuffled out of the room and he wrestled himself free the moment he was outside in the corridor. Irvin shut the door behind them and raked a hand through his hair, looking at Levi. "Didn't that proceed smoothly." Not liking the sarcasm in his voice Levi was about to explode into his face when Irvin held up his hand.

"In my office. I don't want to wake the whole garrison."

He turned and walked down the hall and Levi really considered stabbing him in his back. Then he considered leaving the garrison as quickly as he could. Then he considered stabbing Irvin in the back and THEN leaving the garrison as quickly as he could. In the end he decided that he could as well take his frustration out on Irvin and give him a piece of his mind, stab him afterwards and get the hell out of here – and set to follow the man back to his office.

The moment they were both inside and the door shut behind them he did explode into Irvin's face.

"What the fuck was that about? What was that about the damned Military Police?! How dare the shithead insult me I swear I'll fucking kill that bastard the next time I see him I-"

"Would you calm down? I won't speak to you until you start using your brain again."

He seethed at the blond man and couldn't restrain from darting over to him, slamming into him with full force. He could tell Irvin hadn't expected that as the man gasped and stumbled backwards. Levi dashed to the side and kicked the corporal's legs, avoiding the hands reaching for him. He knew that he didn't stand any chance against Irvin's strength, he had to overpower him otherwise – and he was certainly more agile. The moment Irvin got a hand on him it was over – he had to get him to the floor first.

But that was easier said than done as he could tell that Irvin was a skilled fighter – he could also tell that usually his targets were much bigger and slower than Levi was. It came all down to dodging hands and feet, kicking and hitting where he could aim at and then getting the hell away from him again to return within seconds. He used his advantage in speed and manoeuverability and they tumbled through the office, never taking their eyes off the other. Levi could see the concentration and frustration in Irvin's eyes and he was sure he looked about the same, neither of them willing to back down. Both of them were panting and Levi heard the blood rush through his veins, his heart beating fast against his ribcage.

It was when Levi was forced to jump back in order to avoid Irvin that he crashed into the man's desk, hitting his thigh against the hard wood which made him stumble and gasp in pain. It was just fractions of a second that he needed to regain his balance but it was enough for Irvin to launch himself against him, grabbing him. He kicked and lashed out at him, scratched and bit where he could reach the other but that didn't help him. He was spun around and pushed forward and found himself slammed against the wall behind Irvin's desk. He struggled against the hands holding his arms behind his back, using leverage to limit Levi's movement to a minimum. He struggled anyway, snarling viciously at Irvin and kicking backwards to make him release him. But Irvin held him there firmly, pushed him roughly against the wall when he landed a blow to one the man's shins. He moved closer and used his body to trap him even more against the wall, making it almost impossible to move.

"Stop struggling, NOW."

He heard suppressed anger in the other's voice, it was trembling slightly from it. An unpleasant feeling of discomfort crept up his spine when feeling the other's body so close, his breath on his neck and cheek, mixing into the rage and frustration he was feeling. He kept struggling, more desperately than before even, his heart beating so loud and fast that he was sure Irvin heard it, too.

"Let GO!"

The blond man shoved at him again, moving his arms in an angle that made him cry out in pain, quickly biting his lips to stifle it. That bastard, he was so gonna regret this. He would KILL him, no matter-

"I won't until you calm down. I refuse to be attacked again."

He should have gone for his knife, he just should have stabbed him when he had been able to, the fuckhead. The hell he would calm down, he'd fight until he got his hands on the bastard and-

"Maybe it's good we're having this right now, I think you don't understand the range of this whole thing."

Levi snarled at him, trying to tear his arms out of his grip even though he risked having them dislocated. He didn't care, he just wanted to get away from him.

"The fuck I don't understand!"

He was roughly pushed against the wall for the third time and he heard the corporal actually swear under his breath, realizing that the man was very close to losing his temper. He almost wanted to laugh, there Smith's great composure went down the drain. He actually seemed to be able to feel anger instead of the eternal smiling calmness, Levi thought to himself. Maybe he would finally show his true self now instead of hiding behind his polite façade.

The man's voice was dangerously low when he spoke up again, sending chills down his spine which did nothing to calm Levi.

"This is not a playground. Every decision that you make has its consequences. This is not the street where you can live and act just by your own rules."

Levi wanted to kick him, wanted to hit him straight in the face for his audacity. He hissed and snarled and struggled even though it did nothing to free him, it just caused him pain. The corporal's strong hands held him in a way that he was barely able to move and it was making him furious, scared even as he didn't know what to expect. It all clouded his thoughts, the pressure of the moment weighing him down.

"Fuck you then, all of you assholes! I won't have this shit!"

The corporal was silent for a while and Levi twisted his head around to see what he was doing, which wasn't much. He looked at Levi with almost thoughtful eyes – Levi found it frustrating that nothing of his anger was to be seen in his eyes. They were calm, contemplating even, and when he spoke up so was his voice.

"Do you really want to blow this? This might indeed be the only chance you get for changing your life."

It was unnerving and it made Levi even more furious, he tried tearing at his arms again. But the calm words somehow found their way into his mind, diving into his clouded thoughts that were so full of rage and frustration and fear that he could barely see straight. He shook his head, not willing to let the man manipulate him any further. He knew Irvin was doing it again, addressing a part in him that was willing to listen and he hated him for it.

"But not like this! I won't be handed over to the fucking MP no matter what, do you really think I'll LET you?! I don't care who the fuck he is, he has no right to say-"

The man cut right into his words with his calm voice. There was a seriousness about it that made Levi listen, even though he gritted his teeth and hissed at the corporal.

"To say WHAT? To say you're scrawny, vicious and insolent? He does, as it's true. To say that he'll hand you over to the Military Police if you don't behave accordingly? He does have the right, you're a criminal. You killed people." He snarled at the taller man when hearing those words but Irvin didn't let him mouth any of his thoughts. "I know you didn't do it for fun and I can imagine your life pretty much sucked so far."

He was surprised about his choice of words, he hadn't heard the posh bastard use such language up to that point. Seething at him Levi struggled again but the more he struggled the more strength left him, making him more aware of the pain that was shooting up his arms every time he moved, the overall oppressive feeling of being forced against the wall. Frustration and a sense of defeat was tuning his anger down, making him spit his words at Irvin with a distinctive touch of suppressed despair.

"You have no fucking idea you son of a bitch."

Irvin looked at him, not tightening his grip again. Levi didn't want to see him anymore and averted his eyes, no longer feeling the urge to watch him because he sensed that he other wasn't doing this to injure him or cause him any kind of pain.

The corporal's grip at his arms slightly loosened which gave his arms a little relief but wasn't enough to make him try to free himself again.

He heard the other's voice speak up again, calm as always. But there was something else, a soft touch to it that made Levi listen carefully.

"Why are you so intent on fucking this up, then? It's your chance to prove to everybody what you're capable of, without having to fear that they hunt you down for it. It's your chance to change things for you."

He stared at the wall, thinking about the words and part of him was screaming at him that this man… was right. He wanted a different life – but the other part in him, the one that was so stubborn and intent on surviving and mistrusting anybody and anything still screamed NO. He shook his head, willing those thoughts away. He was confused, emotions were twirling so high inside of him that he was afraid of being swamped by them.

It all came down to what he wanted, he realized. It was still his choice. If he wanted to take this chance, no matter what it came along with, with the submission to a system and superiors and rules – or if he wanted to go back to the streets, living by his own rules and running from the Military Police until he either died or they eventually caught him.

Looking at it that way… he didn't need long to make a decision. He wasn't happy with it because neither option really pleased him but he was choosing the lesser evil.

He slowly, and it afforded a lot of will-power, relaxed between the corporal's body and the wall, showing him without words that he had thought about it. He knew Irvin would understand his conclusion, the observant manipulative bastard that he was. And he did, his grip slowly loosened and Levi suppressed a relieved sigh when he was able to slump his shoulders and the throbbing pain dulled a bit.

Irvin released him eventually, stepping back and giving him space, saying: "Just stop struggling."

Levi turned around and pressed his back against the cold wall, noticing the heat that had been radiating off the corporal's body only now that it was no longer there. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, desperately trying to maintain his composure on the outside while he was failing completely on the inside. Pressing his arms close to his body he knew that this wasn't a gesture of stubbornness, it was one of defense.

The corporal stood a few steps away from him, keeping his distance now that Levi was calm. Blue eyes were looking at him, calm and honest as always. Even though it unnerved him to no end he noted that the calmer Irvin was he was, too.

"And stop fighting me. I think what happened to you is very unfortunate but I had nothing to do with this. Neither did Dallis Zacklay or any other member of the Recon Corps. I'm not the right person to take your frustration and insecurities out on."

Levi glared at him for the last comment but even though he tried to deny it he knew Irvin was right. He hated to be lectured but there was nothing he could say to object him.

He averted his eyes, fighting down the rising feeling of guilt. He really didn't need that feeling to mix into the rest, it made everything even more complicated. 'Your thankfulness towards corporal Irvin should be endless. Don't be a disappointment.' The Commander's word were echoing in his head and as if Irvin had heard them as well he chose this moment to speak up again, bending down to pick up some files that had slid off the desk when Levi had crashed into it.

"He does have a point, though. It's not only yourself that your decisions will have consequences for. Which is not why I'm asking you to be a little more prudent about the way you act, this is absolutely not about me. I want you to think before you act for your own sake. Just bear in mind that everything you do falls back to me, too, somehow."

He looked at Levi and leaned back against the desk, placing his palms on the wooden surface on either side of his body. Levi held his gaze for a moment and then averted his eyes, even though there was nothing accusing to the way he spoke and looked at him he couldn't look at him and hated himself for it. He shouldn't be feeling what he was feeling but he couldn't help it.

"About that Military Police thing: You won't be handed over as long as you function, I'll make sure of that. Trust me on this, Levi. And I'm sure you will do great."

He closed his eyes for a moment and then looked back up at Irvin, those honest cerulean eyes were still gazing at him. Levi was at a loss of what to say; there was so much going on in his head, so many thoughts and questions making his head spin. He just knew that in a very twisted way he did trust Irvin Smith; he believed in his words. He just wasn't used to feeling this way.

The only thing he could muster up was a nod – and that seemed to suffice the corporal. His lips split into a slight smile and this time Levi was almost relieved to see it.

"Good."

The only affirmation he got, but that was enough for Levi.

The corporal looked around the office and caught a glimpse of the clock which made his eyes widen.

"Gods, it's late… I think we should catch some sleep, it's going to be a long day tomorrow."

Sleep… the very last thing he felt at that moment was tiredness. He knew that he should be exhausted but his senses were so alert that he couldn't imagine falling asleep soon. He followed the corporal nevertheless when Irvin motioned for him to do that, arms still pressed against his body. A strange numbness had settled over him, as if the outburst of so many emotions in the last few minutes had accumulated in feeling none of them anymore. In a way he welcomed that feeling, it was way better than the twirling of emotions that he couldn't make a sense of. But it left him cold in a way, unable to process anything of what he should be feeling.

He followed Irvin to the man's bedroom, his face firmly set into the neutral, bored look he usually gave everyone and everything. As much as there was going on in his mind nothing of it showed on his face.

He chose to stand in the doorframe and watched Irvin walk over to the large wardrobe, pulling out a few blankets and a pillow. Watching him walk over to the vacant one of the two beds that were in the room it finally dawned to Levi that he was supposed to sleep here. He pointed it out to the corporal, making sure.

"So… we both sleep here?"

Irvin placed the blankets and the pillow on the bed and turned to look at Levi, inclining his head.

"I think that's least complicated. I don't know which rooms are vacant, if there are any, and you already know where the bathroom is."

Levi felt discomfort creep up his spine when he thought about sleeping in this room, let alone in this building. He wasn't used to any of this.

"Aren't you afraid that I'm going to stab you in the middle of the night?"

His voice was steady, just as he expected it to be. He had never been allowed to show emotions, the moment you let the enemy know that you were afraid it was over. If he was good at something then it was just this, seeming way more confident and calmer than he actually was.

Irvin frowned a little but smiled doing it, shrugging his shoulders.

"I think if you really intended to stab me in the middle of the night it wouldn't matter where you sleep, you'd find me anyway. I spare you the trouble of searching for me, this way."

His pleasant sarcasm was something he would probably never get used to… but at least the corporal didn't seem to be still angry. Even though Levi was sure that the man was as good at hiding his real emotions as Levi was, he was just doing it differently.

"That's too kind."

The blond man's lips twitched and he went over to his wardrobe again.

"Anytime."

He pulled out another stack of clothing that he held out to Levi.

"Here, that's more comfortable to sleep in."

He stared at him, unable to believe that he had bought even more stuff for him. Not being in a mood to pick another fight over the fact that Irvin couldn't have known that he was coming but HAD somehow, having been so sure that he had already bought clothes for Levi because he was a manipulative bastard, he just accepted them. Irvin looked at him and then nodded in the bathroom's direction.

"You go first."

Levi hesitated a moment but slipped out of his shoes and went to the bathroom eventually, closing the door behind him. He leaned against the heavy wood and closed his eyes, rubbing his face with his palms. He needed to calm down, now. The whole situation seemed to be crushing him, it was a lot to take in at a time. The thought of sleeping caged inside a room, and sharing that space with another person, was almost unthinkable. He wasn't used to any of this – it was a huge change for him and he was sure that only was the tip of the iceberg, there was so much more coming up.

He took a deep breath, pushed away from the door and moved over to the opposite wall, as far away from the door as he possible could, and hurriedly changed into the clothes Irvin had just given him. He felt exposed, constricted, knowing that there was someone else on the other side of the door who could barge in any time. While he was rather sure that the man wouldn't do that because he had no reason to he still felt threatened and quickly put on the new clothes, feeling relieved when he was ready.

There was not much he could, or would, do otherwise so he folded the other clothes and left the bathroom with them.

The blond man was sitting on the edge of his mattress and looked up at him when Levi entered, a mug nursed in his hands. He had taken off his shirt, undershirt, shoes and socks, it was all lying in a messy heap next to his bed. Pressing the folded clothes a little tighter to his chest he went over to the bed he was supposed to sleep in and climbed onto it, pushing back until his back met the wall without taking his eyes off the corporal. Blues eyes looked right back at him and Irvin smiled before getting up, walking over to the bathroom and disappearing in it.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, taking a deep breath to calm himself before getting up and placing the folded clothes on a chair that was next to the bed. After a moment of hesitation he stole a sip of water from the mug that Irvin had placed on a small table that was set in front of the window before returning to the bed. He crawled onto it and pushed his sheathed knife underneath the pillow – he felt naked without having it in reach. He then reached for the blankets, wrapped himself in them and huddled into the corner that the bed, standing next to the wardrobe, created.

It didn't take Irvin long to reappear and the man went back to his bed, extinguishing the torch that had lit the small room. As he didn't draw the curtains closed there were pale moon rays shining in through the window and allowed Levi to watch him lie down on his bed, sliding beneath the covers and stretching underneath them. Feeling his body relax slowly he lay down as well, unable to stop watching the other person. He knew Irvin wouldn't get up, come over and hurt him – it was just impossible to turn off his instincts that made him be alert, suspicious. He hadn't trusted anybody for years, had never even considered sleeping inside of a building because it made him feel caged; he would rather be outside in the cold, on a roof or a tree to lessen the chances of somebody going to kill him in his sleep. He had no idea when he had slept long and deep for the last time, probably never in the last seven years. Being in this bed, having clean, slightly scratchy blankets wrapped around him, warming him, felt great, just as cleaning himself with warm water and soap had felt great earlier – those were just things he wasn't used to. He wasn't used to having rules, having to obey and accept other people's decisions, to having people around him in the first place. All of this threw him completely off-balance – and scared him shitless, even though he hated to admit it. Turning his whole life upside-down was a good thing as his life was a crappy mess – it just came with the price of losing everything he knew, everything he had been certain about. And that was hard, he didn't know what was going to happen and what people expected from him.

But he was certain about one thing: he had misjudged Irvin a little earlier. He was sure that this man could lead his men to battle – he had seen a new side of him earlier, not the attentive and caring side he had seen and mocked before. Not that he wanted to add cold-hearted, brutal, ruthless or anything like that to his list of attributes describing Irvin but he HAD seen a dominant, aggressive, obstinate side of him that had somehow surprised him. And made his respect for this man rise by a good portion.

"Did I… hurt you earlier?"

He jumped a little when he heard the corporal's voice, the man hadn't moved at all before deciding to speak up. Levi could vaguely see him face the ceiling and he huddled closer to the wall, pulling the blankets around him like a cocoon. He actually sounded a little rueful, his voice was very quiet and Levi did roll his eyes even though his words somehow relieved him, touched him in a way. When he spoke, his voice was soft, equally calm and quiet.

"No, it's fine."

He heard him breathe, the quietness of a room almost stunning to him. It was never quiet outside, there were always noises – animals rustling through trash, people walking around, talking, screaming, the wind moving the tree's branches, the sounds of the river. He never remembered being anywhere this quiet.

"I wasn't going to, I just… needed a way to get you to listen and-"

He felt his lips twitch a little, a very unusual feeling as he never really had a reason to smile – but here in the dark, quiet room, where no one would witness it, he felt the urge to smile a little to himself.

"Your consideration really is awful."

He heard the other laugh softly and Irvin turned onto his side, his back facing Levi.

"Just do your best, hard work is always appreciated. You'll do great, I'm sure."

"You're repeating yourself."

He chuckled again and pulled his blankets higher, covering his shoulders.

"So you really did listen." He paused a few seconds to see if Levi would say something to that, but he didn't. He had listened and Irvin knew it perfectly well. "Goodnight, Levi."

He said the words back to him, quietly, and drew his legs up to his chest, curling into a ball. Still watching the other's silhouette he listened to him breathe, sliding his hand underneath the pillow to brush his fingertips against the metal of his knife. The corporal's breathing even out, becoming deep and regular and Levi was rather certain that he fell asleep within minutes – a state that he was very far away from. But he found that the longer he listened to his steady breathing the more his muscles relaxed and he tried closing his eyes – only to feel them fly open at the first rustle of cloth he perceived. The corporal had moved, he had turned onto his stomach in his sleep. Levi took a deep breath and closed his eyes again, trying to tell himself that everything was fine, that he could go to sleep without fearing that somebody might come to hurt him – when Irvin exhaled deeply which made his eyes fly open again. He wanted to groan in frustration but he was afraid to wake the other so he settled for staring at his broad back. One of his hands came up and fingers curled in his dark hair. It was a habit he had adopted long time ago, knowing it somehow calmed him a little when he had trouble falling asleep, when feeling unbearably miserable in general. It didn't do much for him this night, though – he would have to wait for exhaustion to make him pass out.

He had no idea for how long he had been lying there, shifting around on the hard mattress in a way that he was always able to keep an eye on the second bed in the room and trying to go to sleep, when it started. It started out lightly, a building pressure in his middle that got completely unbearable within minutes. He stifled a whimper and apprehensively touched his stomach, crossed his arms in front of it and pressed them against his torso. He had never, in his whole life, felt so sick before. And his stomach didn't like the pressure he applied, not at all. It just took another second until he jerked up, scrambled out of the bed and rushed into the bathroom. He fell to his knees in front of the toilet and threw up violently, feeling tears stinging in the corners of his eyes when his stomach convulsed repeatedly. Digging his fingers into the edge of the toilet he waited for the next wave, feeling that there was more to come.

Oh god… Levi is way harder to write than Irvin. 8DDDD The little brat doesn't only give Irvin a hard time, me as well. XD

Hope you enjoyed reading anway!

3


	6. Chapter 6

Attachment

Author: Cigamina

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin

Protagonists: Irvin Smith and Levi are the main focus

Part: 6/?

Warnings: violence , foul language

Rating: will be M

Disclaimer: Characters unfortunately aren't mine, therefore no money-making~ XDDD

Notes: Not too much yet, story starts a few years before the plot in the anime/manga evolves, in year 835.

Please forgive me for making so many mistakes, English is not my native language and I'm sure you will find plenty of mistakes in there! _

Songs I heard while writing the story below:

Christian Toth - Minimal Set 2013

Daniel Portman - Galvanized

Flying Steps – In da arena

Music Instructor – Rock your body (Brainbug Remix)

Schiller – Schiller

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Notes²: I want to thank all people who write me comments and just everybody who reads this story! I really appreciate that and I'm happy about the attention this story is getting! I love you all!

There's a lot more coming up, I'll do my best to update as fast as I can!

Be patient with those two! They still have a very loooong way to go! XDDDD

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Attachment– Chapter 6

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He didn't really know what woke him up but when he opened his eyes he knew that it was too early. Usually the first sunrays woke him – and it was still very dark outside. He also didn't feel reposed at all – which he hadn't expected since he knew that between his going to bed and morning only were a few hours of sleep. Which had just been interrupted even earlier than he had liked.

Sighing he decided to just turn around and go back to sleep for a little longer – when he heard a very ugly noise that came from somewhere behind his back. It made him sit up, turning his head in the direction of the noise when he heard it again, clearly coming from his bathroom. He blinked, throwing a glance over to the second bed in the room where he saw tangled blankets and nothing else – and when his still befuddled brain finally put two and two together he darted out of his bed and into the bathroom. The pale moon rays shining into the room made it easy to make out Levi's silhouette in front of the toilet, hunched on the floor and obviously the source of the ugly noises that were so much louder now that Irvin was in the same room. Also considering his position and the smell that hung in the air made it quite easy to understand what the boy was doing here. He was being really, really sick.

"Levi…"

The boy's head shot up when he heard Irvin's voice and dark blue eyes stared at him, but not for long. Another wave of nausea seemed to crash down on him and he threw up again, his whole body convulsing. He heard him whimper and breathe harshly, his hands gripping the edge of the toilet tightly.

Irvin turned around and went back to fetch the mug from the little table by the window, filled it with water from the jug on his nightstand and returned to the bathroom. He cautiously crouched down and placed the mug on the floor next to him, seeing the boy look in his direction warily before bending over the toilet again, retching. Irvin stretched out his hand and gently put it onto the boy's back, feeling him flinch violently underneath his touch. The boy's body tensed up and Irvin already expected him to crawl away but another wave of nausea kept him rooted to where he was, he threw up again. Irvin, rather immune to the acid smell of it as he had smelled things way worse, kept his hand where it was und gently rubbed up and down the boy's back. He had found that comforting when he had been sick as a child and he tried it with Levi, knowing that he boy needed to relax and to breathe. Tensing and panting only made it worse.

The boy clung to the edge of the toilet, made a weak attempt to shrug Irvin's hand off but instantly started retching again so he stilled. Irvin looked at him, still gently rubbing his back and felt the muscles underneath his hand unclench a little more with each passing second.

"That's good, relax… and breathe. Is it over?"

The boy shot him a weak glare and shook his head very slightly, afraid to cause another wave of nausea, but tried breathing calmly. Which only made him be sick again, Irvin supposed that it was the smell.

"Wait."

He got up from the floor and used the bucket to get a little water from the pump they used to get water from the tanks stored underneath the building up into the rooms. With the bucket in his arms he went back to Levi and bend over him to pull a string that made the toilet's ground open, pouring the water in to flush the former content of Levi's stomach down the drain. Setting the bucket aside he let go of the string and sat down next to Levi again, looking at the boy.

"Better?"

The boy hesitantly nodded, still clutching the edge of the toilet. But he took a few deep breaths and with the smell mostly gone it didn't cause him to throw up right again. Irvin extended a hand and put it back onto the boy's back, resuming the task he had discarded a few minutes ago. Levi looked at him and tensed a little but when Irvin just continued the rubbing motion he relaxed soon, bending over the toilet again. He didn't let go yet, it seemed as if his stomach was still unsteady.

"I told you you were going to be sick… your stomach just couldn't handle all of it."

There was another glare shot in his direction and the boy opened his mouth to say something but instead he shuddered and bent over the toilet, violently throwing up again. Irvin doubted that there would be anything left in his stomach by now and the only thing coming up was gastric acid, which, he knew, burnt like hell. The boy was panting and Irvin did feel sympathy for him even tough Levi had basically done this to himself. But who could blame him, Irvin was sure that he would have done exactly the same in the boy's place.

They sat there in silence for a while, Levi clutching the edge of the toilet and Irvin gently rubbing his back. He retched once in a while but finally he had nothing left that he could throw up. It took a little time until he slowly unclawed his fingers from the wood, lifting his head. Irvin's hand stilled and he looked at the boy.

"Do you feel better?"

Levi hesitantly nodded and Irvin moved his hand away from his back, reaching for the mug instead and eased the mug into the boy's hands.

"Here, drink a little water."

Levi accepted the mug and took a sip, moved the water around in his mouth and spat it into the toilet. He repeated the action a few times before actually drinking a little water, waiting a while after that as if to see whether that would make him throw up again or not. But apparently it didn't, his stomach seemed to have steadied a little. Thank god… as far as Irvin knew such reactions were acute and violent but were over as soon as the cause for the convulsion was out of the system. Which it was now, in Levi's case. He should be fine… and Irvin needed to think about what to feed to the boy. They would have to build up his stomach slowly and carefully – but that could wait until morning. What they needed right now was get back into bed and catch another few hours of sleep.

He looked at Levi and took the empty mug from his hands, rocking back onto his heels.

"Feeling up to getting back into bed?"

The boy shot him another nasty glance, Irvin supposed it was for good measure, and hoisted himself off the ground. He seemed a little unsteady and Irvin got up as well, eying the other skeptically. Knowing that trying to help him back to bed would only end in the other battering his hands off, they had already had that two nights ago, Irvin nodded at him, repeated the action of flushing away what had been in the toilet and walked out of the room then, placing the mug where he had taken it from and sat down on his bed. He waited for the boy to return to the room as well and Levi did a few seconds later, thudding back to his bed and crawling underneath his blankets. Irvin did the same, watching the boy huddle into his blankets for a second before he turned his head to face the ceiling, closing his eyes. The exhaustion washed right through him and he almost missed the boy speaking up, his voice very soft.

"…thank you…"

That was very surprising and Irvin couldn't help but smile in the darkness, turning over onto his side.

"Anytime, Levi."

They boy fell silent after that and Irvin just gave in to his fatigue, being fast asleep only seconds later.

* * *

When his stomach rumbled he clenched his jaw, hugging himself around the stomach tentatively. He really didn't want to be sick again… but the nauseous feeling of before failed to reappear, he just felt dull in general. He was exhausted, this had drained the last energy from his body – and he still couldn't sleep. It was still his head keeping him awake, now his thoughts mainly wrapped themselves around the man whose back he was staring at. Who had just spent like an hour with him in the bathroom, comforting him while he was being sick to his stomach.

Levi pulled the blankets more tightly around him, huddling into the warmth he had created inside of his cocoon. He had been scared when the man had touched him so suddenly, bare-chested and muscular and over-powering as he was. But his body had decided that he still wasn't a threat, had relaxed. Because… it HAD felt comforting to have his back rubbed like that. Which confused the hell out of him as he had never enjoyed someone else's touch – he couldn't recall anyone wanting to touch him in a comforting way for the past seven years, though. He shivered and felt the need to feel for his knife again, making sure it was still there. Which it was.

Staring at the man's broad back he couldn't help but frown, chewing on his lip. He just couldn't figure him out. Why was he doing all of this…? Being sickingly nice to him, looking after him, GETTING HIM HERE in the first place. It didn't make any sense to him… and he knew that he would have to ask the man. It was driving him crazy. He didn't seem to want anything back in return, he had just asked for his trust. Which he had, apparently. He was still here. In the same room with him and he hadn't killed him. Didn't intend to kill him, either. He had done a great job manipulating Levi, he thought darkly to himself.

He tried closing his eyes but found that he just couldn't keep them shut. Suppressing a frustrated growl he sat up, rubbing his face. He just didn't feel calm enough to fall asleep. Still listening to each and every sound he just couldn't let go, he felt exposed and vulnerable. This had nothing to do with Irvin Smith's presence – it was the fact that he wouldn't have time to hide or escape through the window if somebody just barged in, he would be caught within a second. That was what haunted him and he knew that it wouldn't let him go for a while, until he had adjusted to being inside at night.

His eyes wandered through the room and finally fixed on the high, broad wardrobe. It was massive and it almost reached the ceiling, creating an alcove between the wood and the stone. Levi blinked and didn't hesitate a second, grabbed his blankets and the knife and stood next to the wardrobe. With impressively little noise, without much strain and only a little use of his knife he scaled the wardrobe, crawling back until he met the wall. Lying down and pulling the blankets around him he overlooked the room and found this way better. It wasn't as comfortable as the mattress but it rendered him out of reach for most people who weren't giants like Irvin Smith, he wouldn't be seen at the first glance thrown into the room, and he could see the most part of the room. That was WAY better. He could feel his alert senses dim a little immediately and when he huddled closer to the wall, curling up into a tight ball, he was sure that he could fall asleep here. Giving closing his eyes a shot he took a few deep breaths, feeling rather safe where he was. It still wasn't ideal, but it had never really been ideal.

It didn't need him long to fall asleep, curled up on top of the wardrobe, finally knocked out by his exhaustion. The knife clutched tightly in his right hand he lost consciousness, finally drowning in blissful darkness.

* * *

When he slowly woke up he felt the pale rays of the autumn's sun caress his face, confirming that it was indeed morning this time. Grumbling softly he raised a hand and rubbed his eyes, slowly opening them. Rolling onto his back he decided to stay in bed for another couple of minutes, taking his time to wake properly.

His slumber hadn't been interrupted again so he assumed that the black-haired boy had been fine after the incident in the bathroom. He would go talk to the ladies in the kitchen as soon as possible, making them prepare something light and edible for Levi. Military kitchen mostly consisted of nutrient food that gave the soldiers lots of energy and kept them fed for a while, and that was impossible for Levi to handle. He needed light soup, a little bread, maybe a few vegetables, meat, fish, milk, eggs. While knowing that he wouldn't get any of that during military training he could make sure Levi ate properly while he was with him and he would do just that.

Turning his head in the direction of the boy's bed he expected him to be still fast asleep – and frowned when he found the bed completely empty. The blankets were gone and so was the boy, the only remaining thing was the pillow. Irvin sat up, looking around the room in search for the boy and almost felt the urge to jump out of bed to start looking for Levi immediately – when he caught sight of the corner of a blanket that was hanging down from the wardrobe. His frown deepened and he did get up, standing on his toes – and really found the boy on the wardrobe. Curled into a tight ball with the blankets wrapped around his slim body, fast asleep. Irvin stared at him for a few seconds, wondering why he had chosen to sleep up there – and only found one solution to the riddle: he had fled to the only place where he couldn't be reached easily. Even Irvin, being quite tall, would have to climb onto Levi's bed to be able to touch him.

Shaking his head lightly he went over to the wardrobe, silently opened its doors and fetched himself a shirt to shrug into. Slipping into socks and shoes he decided to let Levi sleep a little longer; the boy was probably even more exhausted than Irvin was.

He left the room after a quick trip to the bathroom to make himself look presentable and made a little tour, dressed casually. He wanted to wash before getting into his uniform and he wanted to take care of a few things even before that.

He went to the kitchen and talked to the ladies who were busily preparing the soldiers' breakfast, explaining briefly that he had a boy with him who needed some special nourishment, and they eagerly assured him that they would whip something up. They only begrudgingly released him but not without giving him a slice of freshly baked sweet bread on which he chewed while heading to the garrison's entrance to see the guards there. They greeted him cheerfully and he gave them some instructions, as to letting Levi leave and enter as he pleased. He was sure that the boy would spend the day somewhere outside, being inside all day would only bore him. But he wanted to give him the possibility to return whenever he wanted, independent on Irvin's being here or not.

After a quick check-up in the stable to see if they had a suitable horse for Levi and to feed a few carrots to his stallion Flakes he returned to his room, entering it quietly. He confirmed with a curious glance that the boy was still asleep on top of the wardrobe, and got his things together to go wash in the bathroom.

When he reappeared a little while later, clad in his uniform and his hair in neat order, Levi was still sleeping. Irvin mused that he had to be deeply asleep when nothing woke him. He wasn't necessarily noisy but he couldn't avoid all noises he was due to make.

Stepping onto Levi's bed with socked feet he reached for the boy, his hand hovering over one of his lower legs. He was well aware of the knife in Levi's hand and he would rather avoid being slashed so he stuck to trying to startle the other as little as possible. He only lightly touched him and chose to address him in addition.

"Levi."

It didn't take the boy long to react, the moment Irvin touched him his eyes flew open and his upper body jerked up as far as it could as the alcove between wardrobe and ceiling was rather narrow, the knife clutched tightly in his hand. He stared at Irvin who took a step back, holding up his empty hands in a defensive gesture and smiling tentatively.

"It's just me."

It took the other a few seconds to click into place, remembering where he was and who he was staring at, but eventually he blinked and slowly lowered the knife. He drew his legs towards his body, out of Irvin's reach, and raised a hand to rub at his face. He looked exhausted, his eyes were heavy-lidded and the dark circles underneath them had become even darker. Irvin stepped off the bed, giving the boy the space he would need to climb back down.

"How are you feeling? You didn't have any more seizures, did you?"

The boy shook his head, still wrapped in the blankets. He was looking around the room from his spot on top of the wardrobe and Irvin smiled.

"That's good. You care for some breakfast? I told the nice ladies in the kitchen to make you something that will stay in this time, so don't worry."

The boy stared at him, his eyes narrowing the slightest bit. His voice sounded hoarse, maybe his throat was still a little tarnished from the throwing up and sleep.

"So… it was your food that caused… that?"

Irvin inclined his head, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"It was, yes, but not because there was anything wrong with the food. I ate it too, remember? It's just that… you're not used to eating regularly and your stomach couldn't handle that variety and amount of food, so it did the only thing it could: reject what it couldn't process. And that's basically what happened."

The boy stared at him, Irvin wasn't sure if he was getting what he was saying. He was sure that the boy had never even thought about what his organs did and didn't do, that was something he had never needed. His object had been getting food whenever he could lay his hands on it, end of story.

Eventually Levi nodded and peeled the blankets off his body, leaving them on the wardrobe when he set to come back down. He did so rather gracefully, Irvin was sure that if it wasn't for the injury on his thigh he would have even been more subtle in his movements. He was used to climbing, Irvin realized. Maybe that was what had driven him up there, on top of the wardrobe: the feeling that he was safer the higher he was up somewhere. It made sense to him, his whole behavior. The boy had to get used to a lot of things first and Irvin had to be indulgent and patient during this process, which he was prepared for. It seemed that Levi was willing to make an effort, he didn't flee from the room to find another place to sleep, most likely outside. He stayed even though he had obviously felt uncomfortable - Irvin gave him credit for that.

He smiled at the boy and nodded in the bathroom's direction.

"Get ready then, I'll wait for you in my office."

He left the boy alone, entering the office and walking over to his desk. He would do a little reading and stamping until the boy was ready so he sat down on the chair, taking up one of the reports. Even though this wasn't his usual office and he had only spent a few days here there were a lot of things on his desk – he had to finish all of this before going back to their headquarters.

He tried concentrating on the report but his thoughts just didn't want to stick with it, they wandered off successfully until Irvin sighed and set the report aside. Not yet having had the time to reflect on the events of the previous night his thoughts were constantly going back there. To where the evening had taken a violent turn in a direction Irvin hadn't expected. He didn't know WHAT he had expected – but Levi freaking out somehow hadn't been in the picture. He didn't really know why as it seemed perfectly understandable for him in retro perspective. The boy had snapped, something had been too much for him. It had dawned to him that signing up for the military wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment-thing… it was a long-term commitment and most likely going to change his whole life. He wouldn't see Hermiha for quite some time, would be in a completely new environment, with people around him all the time. He would have a rigid schedule, a whole bunch of rules and so on.

He hadn't expected the boy to fight him, either. He had already gotten used to the boy's calm part and had somehow forgotten about the vicious, dangerous and efficient side of him – yesterday's fight had been a reminder that the boy still was a wild animal, a spooked but dangerous one. And Irvin was glad that it had turned up already instead of boiling inside of the boy for some time. Irvin had taken care of it that way – he thought that Levi was okay now. He had explained to the boy where he stood and Levi had made a decision – Irvin expected this to be settled. At least for now. He was certain that it would take Levi time to get used to everything but as long as the boy told him what was bothering him (or at least let him know in some way) it would be fine. He assumed that, deep down, the boy was glad to be offered a chance. He just had to come to terms with it.

He didn't want to interpret that fact further than so much but – the boy hadn't used his knife on him. He hadn't even reached for it during their fighting. Irvin somehow took that as a good sign; Levi hadn't been planning to KILL him at any point. He had just been very angry, afraid and insecure and furious about it all.

It took Levi a little while to appear but when he did so he was dressed properly, neatly even. His black hair had a rather healthy shine now that it was clean and dry even though it still was unruly, reaching his shoulders and with the absence of a haircut. They would have to fix that before the boy started military training, when using the maneuver gear long hair could cause severe accidents.

Irvin smiled at him and got up from his chair, nodding in the door's direction.

"Let's go downstairs."

He lead the boy to the room where they all ate together, finding it appropriate to take him there. He assumed the knowledge that the corporal had 'adopted' a boy must have spread within their little special squad by now and he was proven to have guessed right, they didn't receive as many curious stares as there could have been.

They entered the common dining room and Irvin was glad to see that it wasn't crowded, most soldiers seemed to have already eaten. There were only three other soldiers and Irvin offered Levi a seat at a table on the opposite side of the room. Judging from the boy's tense shoulders Levi didn't feel comfortable, which was understandable, but he had to get used to being around people, around other soldiers.

Levi took the seat, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking up at him. Irvin smiled and briefly looked over to the other men, recognizing one of them to be Mike Zacharius. He raised his hand in greeting and the other man did the same. Irvin turned his attention back to the boy who had followed his eyes to see who Irvin had greeted.

"I'll get our food."

The boy looked at him and nodded, turning his attention back to the other man. Irvin was sure he didn't do it because they were especially interesting but to watch them, just in case.

He left the room and went over to the kitchen where the nice ladies were apparently happy to see him again. Irvin smiled and let the woman wrap him into a brief conversation before asking for their food. He was eagerly given a tray filled with several things and an elderly lady explained what he was supposed to give to Levi. After being made promise to bring the 'poor starved boy' with him next time he went to the kitchen he was allowed to leave, a little giggling and hushed voices dying when the door closed behind him.

It was always the same with woman, he mused. Of course it was flattering him even though he knew that it was his looks and rank that caused the woman's excitement. He was always polite and charming, too, he had been educated that way. It was still overly superficial, this whole inner-wall-society, and he knew that he didn't miss it when being far, far away from all of it. He liked to be judged by skill, honor and success, not by his looks, social background and rank. Those very stupid, subjective values that he didn't pay any attention to.

When he reentered the common dining room he was more than a little alarmed when seeing that Levi was no longer alone at their table. Someone was sitting across from him, an elbow propped up on the table and his cheek resting in his palm. It was Mike Zacharias and he was looking at Levi who stared back at him, his arms still crossed in front of his chest. Noting that Levi didn't look anywhere near ready to kill Irvin relaxed, making his way over to them.

Mike looked at him when he reached the table and Levi threw him a brief glance before turning his attention to Mike again. Irvin saw that he was tense but he didn't reach for his knife; Mike got up from his chair and nodded in Levi's direction.

"He smells good. But he doesn't seem to like me."

Irvin's lips twitched and he set the tray down on the wooden table.

"Don't take it personally. Mike, this is Levi. Levi, Mike Zacharius."

The blond man extended a hand and held it out to Levi.

"Welcome to the military, Levi. I heard this guy converted you?"

The boy stiffened even more and he didn't make any movement to take Mike's hand – maybe he didn't even know what the gesture meant. Irvin decided to dissolve the tension and elbowed Mike lightly.

"Don't make it sound ruthless… I'll see you in a few? I suppose you're coming with us to meet Lord Asphyx?"

It was a polite way to tell Mike that he should leave them alone for a while, and that Irvin would talk to him later. They exchanged a short look and Mike nodded slowly, Irvin knew his friend had gotten the message.

"Sure. I'll meet you outside. It was a pleasure meeting you, Levi."

He put two fingers to his temple in greeting and turned around, leaving the room. Irvin watched him go for a moment before sitting down in the seat Mike had left vacant, starting to distribute the food from the tray. Levi slowly relaxed now that Mike was gone, leaning back in his chair and watching Irvin put several bowls in front of him.

"Mike is a good friend of mine, he was part of my squad when I was still squad-leader. I always appreciate working with him; he's great fighter, too."

Levi's eyes followed his hands and Irvin knew that he just waited for him to finish before he would dig in, he had that same hungry expression on his face like the previous night when he had devoured the soup.

"What… he said I smelled good."

His eyes stared at Irvin, the food forgotten for a few moments. Irvin inclined his head and smiled when he poured the boy some tea. Judging from the smell it was chamomile.

"Ah, that. Mike has a very sensitive nose. He smells people's intentions; so by saying that you smelled good he expresses that he likes you."

The boy arched a thin eyebrow at him, taking the mug when Irvin handed it to him.

"You sure have strange people here…"

Irvin couldn't contradict him, he merely smiled and took his own mug into his hands. He had chosen coffee, feeling the need for its energizing effect. Adding a little sip of milk to the dark beverage he leaned back in his chair, nodding towards the food.

"Dig in, it's all for you."

Most of it at least. Irvin had scrambled eggs and a little sausage; Levi had braised vegetables, a little fish, a boiled egg, some clear soup, a mug of milk. They had a basket filled with fresh bread that came with butter and jam that they were supposed to share. Given the little time they had had the ladies had done a great job whipping up some light food for Levi. He could devour all of it and wouldn't be sick; Irvin would just have to stop him when he went to eat ALL of the remaining bread.

The boy did just that, hungrily starting with the soup and eating bread with it. When he was through the bowl he took the fork and poked the vegetables cautiously, shooting Irvin a questioning look. He grinned and took a sip of his coffee.

"It's vegetables. Try them, they're healthy. And that's fish. You're supposed to eat those together. And don't worry, it won't make you sick again. I advised the ladies in the kitchen to give you food your stomach can handle."

Levi poked at the mostly green vegetables again but then took a bite – and then devoured vegetables and fish just as quickly as the soup. Irvin smiled and ate his eggs, helping himself to a little bread.

They mostly ate in silence, apart from Irvin explaining to Levi how to eat the boiled egg, showing him that he had to peel off the hard shell first. He told Levi to be mindful of the amount of bread he consumed and despite being glared at the boy did comply, slowing down a little.

Irvin was having his second cup of coffee and Levi was sipping his milk when he addressed the boy again.

"You might grow a little during the next few weeks. Your being short might be due to the malnourishment."

Levi frowned at him, putting his mug down.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?"

Irvin chuckled and shook his head, pouring a little more coffee into his mug because he had added a little too much milk, making his beverage too mild.

"Not at all. I think your body didn't get all the things it needed to grow. But you're probably not the age to be full-grown yet, maybe you will gain a couple of inches now that you get proper food."

The boy still frowned but took the mug back in his hands, taking another sip of his milk.

"Hm."

Irvin finished his coffee and set the mug aside, leaning back in his chair and looking at Levi.

"Let me tell you about today's schedule."

He was having the boy's attention, the arched eyebrow indicated it, and he smiled slightly.

"I'll leave with a few of my men to see an important noble a little outside of the town which will take all morning. I don't have any meetings this afternoon so I'd like to grab the opportunity to get you used to being on a horse's back."

The boy blinked when he heard the last part but he didn't say anything, just nodded. Irvin smiled, he was already curious to see Levi ride a horse. He guessed that regarding Levi's motor skills and advanced body control he would be fine.

He reached into his chest pocket and put a few coins in front of Levi, adding another two after thinking briefly.

"I would like you to get yourself a few more clothes. A cloak. And shoes. Do you know the tailor just down the street? I got those clothes there." He pointed at the tunic Levi was wearing. "She's a friend of mine, tell her I sent you and give her my best regards. If she doesn't have anything else in your size, which I assume, tell her she's got only two more days to make some clothes. She'll curse me and tell you to tell me that she hates me but that's fine." He smiled upon seeing the boy's slightly incredulous stare. "Apart from that you're free to spend the remaining time the way you want to. You'll maybe want to get another few things, just get whatever you need. I don't expect you to return the change." He smiled at the boy. "I'd like you to meet me here for lunch around one."

Levi stared at him, then down at the money Irvin had just given him. He didn't make any attempt to reach for the coins, looking back at Irvin instead. His expression was carefully masked when he spoke.

"Don't you worry that I will just run off with all that money?"

Irvin looked back at him, inclining his head a little. Watching him for a little while he smiled just the slightest bit.

"Do I have a reason to?"

He didn't answer the question, he just glanced down and took the money, safely storing it away in his pocket. Irvin's smile only intensified.

He waited for Levi to finish his mug of milk before putting all the empty dishes back onto the tray. The boy helped him, making him blink and say 'thank you' when they were done. They got up and Irvin carried the tray back to the kitchen, excusing himself politely when the woman once again wanted to make him stay a little longer. He spared Levi the experience of being fussed over by a bunch of woman that way, he would save that for the next day. Returning to Levi who had waited in front of the door they made their way to the entrance of the garrison. Irvin smiled at the boy and pointed in the direction of the stables.

"I'll go outside and get my horse ready. I'll see you later, Levi."

The boy nodded and then turned to leave the garrison through the front entrance. Irvin looked after him for a few moments before directing his steps to the stable. He was sure that the boy would be fine out there, he had been for years. Irvin had to concentrate on their meeting with the lord, he would meet his commander and another few soldiers in a little while to go there. And then he would have lunch with Levi and teach him a little riding – he was already looking forward to it.

* * *

And on to the next~

I hope you enjoyed reading this!

XD


	7. Chapter 7

Attachment

Author: Cigamina

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin

Protagonists: Irvin Smith and Levi are the main focus

Part: 7/?

Warnings: violence , foul language

Rating: will be M

Disclaimer: Characters unfortunately aren't mine, therefore no money-making~ XDDD

Notes: Not too much yet, story starts a few years before the plot in the anime/manga evolves, in year 835.

Please forgive me for making so many mistakes, English is not my native language and I'm sure you will find plenty of mistakes in there! _

Songs I heard while writing the story below:

Christian Toth - Minimal Set 2013

Daniel Portman - Galvanized

Flying Steps – In da arena

Linked Horizon – Guren no Yumiya

Music Instructor – Rock your body (Brainbug Remix)

Schiller – Schiller

Notes²: I want to thank all people who write me comments and just everybody who reads this story! I really appreciate that and I'm happy about the attention this story is getting! I love you all!

There's a lot more coming up, I'll do my best to update as fast as I can!

Be patient with those two! They still have a very loooong way to go! XDDDD

Attachment– Chapter 7

Resisting the urge to draw back into the shadows of more narrow streets Levi made his way through the sun-flooded main street. His jaw was clenched and he had his hand tightened to fists in the pockets of his tunic, his fingers tightly wrapped around the money Irvin had given him. People were passing by and Levi meandered through them, carefully avoiding being too close to anybody.

It had never been stranger to be walking around the town – and he had never felt out of place like he did. He was waiting for somebody to shove him, to attack him, to try to wrestle him to the ground and take the money away from him – but nothing like that happened. It was broad daylight and very normal people were minding their own very normal businesses – and nobody paid any attention to Levi.

He wasn't used to that. He wasn't used to walking around among other people, to not being afraid of any of them. Trying to keep his face as neutral as he could he eyed passing people wearily, trying to keep track of everything that happened around him. It was much more difficult doing this during the day, at night there weren't as many people walking around, making it easier for him to oversee everything. He felt threatened in a way, waiting for people to scat him, trying to capture him. He nearly dove for the nearest shadows and his hand went for his knife when a group of soldiers bearing the Military Police's unicorn on their jackets passed him – but they didn't even spare him a look, they walked by, talking and laughing.

He was… normal. Just another person walking around the city, minding his own very normal business. But that needed some time to sink in – he had a right to be here, he didn't need to fight or kill people to earn it. He just had it because he wore clothes that were whole and blended in with other people's clothes. The thought was calming him a little – and still he was more than relieved when he finally reached the taylor Irvin had him to. Taking a deep breath he opened the shop's door, bells chimed when he did. Levi entered, looking around the bright room that was filled with cloth and clothes but he couldn't find the person owning all of it – until he heard a woman's voice.

"Just a sec, I'll be right with you!"

His eyes darted into the direction the voice had come from and he noticed a little door at the back of the shop. It was open and only a few seconds later somebody emerged from the room that was behind it, carrying a few panels of fabric in her arms. The woman had red, curly hair that fell past her shoulders and she was smiling, putting the panels onto a table where she most likely would be cutting them into pieces to make clothes from them. She looked up at Levi with bright green eyes, tucking a strand of her curls behind her ear.

"Hi there, how I can – ohhhh I'm glad to see they fit!"

Levi blinked when he saw her smile brighten even more, at first not understanding her excitement, but then he understood. Of course she recognized clothes that she had made on other people.

She came over to him, walking around him to contemplate him from all sides. He eyed her warily, turning his head to look over his shoulder when she disappeared behind him, not wanting to lose sight of her. There was nothing dangerous about her, she just wanted to see her clothes on him but he still was being cautious.

When she stepped in front of him and clapped her hands together happily he looked up to her, she was quite a few inches taller than he was though nowhere near Irvin's height. The man was just ridiculously tall.

"His visual judgment really is nearly impeccable, I'm impressed."

She held a hand out to him, smiling, and he very gingerly took it after a few moments of brief hesitation.

"I'm Vera, nice to meet you, …uhm… Irvin didn't tell me your name, I'm afraid."

That was because Irvin didn't even know it when he came here to buy those clothes, Levi thought darkly. Cocky bastard, he still was.

He looked at her and slipped his hand out of hers, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"It's… Levi."

Knowing that it was no point telling her the way to pronounce his name in the correct way he just stuck with the name Irvin called him by, not minding the sound of it as he was used to it.

Vera smiled and nodded, inclining her head a little.

"Levi, then. I hope you like the clothes, the colours are very good on you. I'm glad I had a few garments, it's not so common that I have clothes in your size. I mostly do clothes for grown-ups."

Levi nodded and looked around the room, taking in the friendly atmosphere and the brightness of the room which helped him to feel more comfortable being inside. It wasn't as bad as being in the garrison that was filled with soldiers and, he had to point it out, dirty. Knowing that it was only a temporary place for the soldiers of the scouting legion to stay in he assumed that it wasn't cleaned often.

Directing his attention back to the red-haired woman he unfolded his arms and reached into the pockets of his trousers.

"Irvin sent me here and he wants me to give you his best regards." He paused briefly when she smiled, bowing a little to him, before he went on. "He told me to get a few more clothes and a cloak. And shoes."

Vera looked around the room and looked at him apologetically before walking over to a stack of clothes that she examined, taking the clothes into her hands and regarding them one by one.

"I don't think I have more things in your size, Levi, I'm terribly sorry. I'm sure I can shorten a few things a little but those will still be huge on you…"

"He told me, in case that you didn't have any clothes in my size, which he expected, to tell you that you have two more days to make new ones."

The woman stood straight and stared at him incredulously, standing with her hands on her hips. Her green eyes were a little wide as if she couldn't believe the degree of impudence of Irvin's request – and Levi really couldn't blame her.

"He really told you that, huh? That insolent brat, his rudeness is incredible at times." She huffed and rushed over to the desk where she fetched a metering rule. "He surely thinks I don't have other clients to serve, doesn't he? Oh Irvin, you're going to owe me for this." She rushed back to Levi who almost took a step back at her fierceness but when she just started to take his measures he stilled, holding out his arms when she told him to. Green eyes looked into his own when she crouched down while gauging him from shoulder to hip. "Tell him I hate him, okay?"

Levi looked at her, shivering a little when she pushed his tunic up to measure the range of his hips.

"He told me you would tell me to do that."

Vera stared at him for a moment and then she started laughing – which surprised Levi a little, it seemed that the woman was not as angry as she wanted to appear.

"Oh boy, that man is unbelievable. You be careful, he tends to be a manipulative little shit at times."

Levi felt the need to snort but didn't, just settled with looking straight ahead darkly when she stood up and took the length of his arm. "Who are you telling this to…"he murmured quietly underneath his breath.

When Vera had taken all his measures and noted them down on a piece of parchment she looked at him, the smile back on her face.

"All done. Tell mister corporal Irvin bastard Smith-" Her expression darkened a little. "-that the clothes will be ready in two days, you can come pick them up then." Levi had to admit he liked her, he appreciated the way she kept insulting Irvin.

He reached into his pocket and presented her the money Irvin had given to him a little earlier, holding it out to her in his hands.

"How much for all of it…?"

He didn't have any clue about how much he was supposed to give to her, money didn't have a value for him – he had never paid anything with money before, he didn't know what the coins were worth in goods. He would have to trust her to take the right amount – he didn't know her well but Vera and Irvin seemed to know each other, he assumed he could trust her not to rob money from Irvin.

Vera looked at him and frowned a little, then looked down at the golden coins that laid in his palms. She seemed to count for a few moments and reached out, taking a few of the coins from Levi and showed him what she had taken.

"That will do, it's for another two tunics, shirts, trousers, underwear, socks and the cloak."

There were still some coins left and Levi thought for a few moments, looking around the shop and then back at Vera, eyeing her a little warily.

"I still need shoes… and I want a scarf, too. Can I get this here, too?"

He felt stupid in that moment – he had never needed to know where to buy what kinds of goods… biting his tongue he watched her look around the shop, tapping her lip in consideration before her eyes lit up. She exclaimed an 'Ahhh!' and walked over to a little cupboard, opened one of the drawers and pulled a few scarves from there, holding them up.

"Blue? Black? Or Red? Purple?"

"Does the colour matter…?"

Vera laughed and put the red and purple scarves back into the drawer, coming back with a dark blue and a black one.

"As I'm going to make your clothes from green, white, blue, brown, red and black fabric I think you go best with blue and black." She took another coin from Levi and motioned him to put the remaining money back into his pocket before putting the blue scarf loosely around Levi's neck and putting the black one on the table with the panels. She leaned on the table and pointed towards the window, Levi followed the gesture and turned to see what she was pointing at.

"For shoes I suggest you go over there, they have good ones."

There was a shop on the other side of the street, they had a few pairs of shoes behind their window.

Levi looked back at Vera and nodded, hesitated a little before he asked her, feeling stupid again.

"The…money that I got left… will be enough for shoes?"

She cocked her head to the side and smiled, straightening up and walking over to him.

"Depend on how many pairs you want to buy but it is more than enough for another two."

Levi nodded, relieved about her answer, and set to ask his next question, feeling a hated blush creep onto his cheeks when he did so.

"And… I need things for… cleaning teeth…?" He had seen the stuff in Irvin's bathroom this morning, at first not really realizing what it was, but he had sniffed the jar of the white paste and had recognized the pleasant smell of it on Irvin's breath – and had put two and two together. He had always cleaned his teeth by chewing on little twigs or rubbing down his teeth with roots of plants, just as he had been taught – but the things he had seen this morning seemed much more effective to him and he wanted them, too.

Vera nodded, looking a little surprised by his request, and then pointed down the streets.

"You can get those things a few houses down the streets, at Rita's. She sells a whole bunch of medical things and body hygiene stuff, too, you will recognize the shop by the white cross above the door."

Levi nodded again, slightly bowing his head to the woman.

"Thank you…"

She smiled at him and repeated the movement, tossing her hair over her shoulder before moving to stand at her table.

"Anytime. Now, I'll get back to work – there's clothing I need to have ready by the day after tomorrow." She winked at him and Levi's lips twitched. He pulled his new scarf tighter around his neck and looked at her.

"I'll see you, then."

She smiled and raised her hand, waving at him.

"Take care, Levi. And don't forget to give Irvin a piece of my mind, will you?"

He offered her a slight smile and turned around, leaving the shop to let her get back her to her work.

His trip to the store where they sold shoes went by rather quickly, he showed them his shoes and told them to give him another pair of those and a pair of boots that were more suitable for wearing in winter. Carrying a bag with his purchases down the street he found the shop with the white cross above the door and entered, the urge to buy a lot of stuff for keeping himself as clean as he could growing stronger and stronger.

He stayed longer in that shop, looking at everything and ending up buying lots of things. Nice-smelling soap to wash his hair and another one for his body, things that they called toothbrush, a jar of pleasant-smelling toothpaste, a strong-smelling dissolution that was supposed to help him keep his whole mouth clean, a little, flexible plate made from silver that he was supposed to clean his tongue with. He was already dying to try it all out, he had a woman explain it to him. He had also been assured that his teeth were fine which he had been really glad about, he knew that toothache was a terrible thing – he had seen it.

Still having some coins left in his pocket he returned to the garrison, passing the guards without any questions asked, they merely greeted him rather cheerfully. Irvin had most likely told them to let him in and out as he pleased – how considerate of him. Levi huffed quietly and carried the things that he had bought into the corporal's private rooms, placing the shoes next to his bed and taking the rest of the things into the bathroom. He put all of it onto an empty shelf and got to work right away, cleaning his teeth and mouth with everything that he had bought.

Knowing that he would touch horses and reek of them later he refrained from trying the new soap, putting himself off to do it later that night. He put all the things he had used back onto the shelf, pausing a moment to look at Irvin's things that were strewn around the washbowl. The man… was very untidy, judging from his desk, the way he threw his clothes and those things here around. Pressing his lips into a thin line the boy put away Irvin's things, too, storing them at the other side of the shelf he had put his things on to.

He had just set the last item onto the shelf when he heard noise on the other side of the open bathroom's window and he moved to see what was happening. It seemed that the party meeting that lord Irvin had mentioned in the morning was back, some soldiers were arriving with their horses. Levi recognized one of them to be Dallas Zacklay and his eyes narrowed a little, moving to search for Irvin. He wasn't really hard to find, sitting on the only white horse there was. He was giving some instructions and then swung his right leg over the horse's long neck to slide from the saddle, landing on his feet and grabbing the horse's reins.

Levi turned away from the window and looked around, finding the bathroom in perfect order. He nodded to himself and then left the room, heading downstairs to the room where they had eaten in the morning. Choosing to stand close to the door so he had it in visible range instead of going inside and sitting down at a table he waited for Irvin to appear. He didn't want to be stared at and questioned what he was doing here – he doubted that Irvin had explained his being here to every soldier and he wasn't in the mood for stupid questions.

Soldiers passed him without noticing him and filed into the common room, most of them busily chatting with each other – Irvin was one of the last. Levi pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning at and followed the blond man into the room, looking around to seek him out. He found him standing at one of the tables, talking to the tall, blond man who had seated himself across from Levi this morning when Irvin had gotten the food for them. Levi narrowed his eyes a little, the man was strange. He came over to their table after Irvin had left the room, sniffing the air as if he was trying to smell something in particular – which had been the case, Irvin had told him. The particular smell had been Levi's smell. He felt uncomfortable about it and he would watch the man closely when he was around. That was why he didn't approach Irvin any further, waiting for him to finish. He was aware of the looks he was receiving from other soldiers, some had noticed him by now, and he was getting uncomfortable.

The blond man, Mike, chose this moment to look past Irvin and noticed Levi which caused him to point that out to the other blond man, gesturing in Levi's direction. Irvin looked over his shoulder and tapped the men's table twice with his fingers, excusing himself before turning around to face Levi. Irvin smiled and Levi couldn't help it but feel a little comforted by the gesture. The blond man closed the distance between them and pointed at the same table that they had sat at when eating breakfast, it wasn't occupied at all.

"Glad to see you, Levi. Why don't you sit down over there? I'll get our food. Oh, and take that with you."

He handed him a little bag and Levi took it, it was light. Levi nodded and walked over to the table, sitting down on the same chair as he had sat on in the morning while Irvin left the room, undoubtedly going to the kitchen to get another tray full of food. He didn't get it… he didn't know why this man did all that for him. Buying him clothes, making sure he ate properly – and without asking for anything in return. Levi had agreed to sign up for military training, yes – but it wasn't something that served Irvin Smith personally.

He sat the bag down on the floor next to his chair and shook his head, not wanting to go into that any further. He had successfully not thought about it the whole morning and he wanted this to go on, just pretending that this was… absolutely not fishy.

Looking around the room unremarkably he noticed that soldiers left the room and returned with filled plates a little later, they seemed to all go to the kitchen to get their share of food. Levi tried to see what they were eating but he didn't really recognize anything. He hadn't had too many cooked meals in his life, the things he had been able to steal had been bread, pastries, sausages… things that didn't need to be cooked. This morning he had eaten fish, eggs and cooked vegetables for the first time.

He received another few curious stares but it seemed that now that they had seen Irvin Smith interact with him his being there wasn't questioned any farther. Mike also looked at him and when Levi's gaze crossed his he raised his hand in greeting. Levi blinked and then hesitantly nodded, showing the man that he had acknowledged the gesture. He half expected the man to come over again but that didn't happen – and he was glad about it.

Hearing footsteps he looked over his shoulder to see Irvin walking up to their table, a tray in his hands. It seemed that Levi was getting special food again, if they were going to eat what the others ate Irvin wouldn't have needed a tray. The blond man set the tray down on the table and moved to sit down on his chair, starting to scatter the plates. The delicious smell of food rose to his nose and he felt the familiar urge to grab for it, stuff as much of it into his mouth as he possibly could because he could never be certain that there wasn't somebody going to take the food away from him – even though he didn't need to worry about it, here. Nobody would take his food away, he knew that. It was very hard to suppress the instincts that had been burnt into his behavior, though.

Levi got another mug of tea and one of milk, a plate filled with some pale meet in sauce and orange… vegetables if he guessed correctly. There were steaming yellow things on another plate and judging from their shape he would say that they were potatoes but he had never seen them cooked so he wasn't sure. He just knew that they were poisonous when eaten raw. There was another little bowl filled with… a yellowish… paste. He frowned slightly and poked at the stuff with his fork, learning that it was rather soft – and he heard Irvin chuckle. Looking up at the sharply he looked at him, narrowing his eyes a little.

"What's so funny?"

The man's blue eyes almost sparkled when he smiled, his charm was almost disgusting.

"Just your way of poking the pudding like it's going to attack you. It's sweet and vanilla-flavoured and the dessert." Levi just glared at him and Irvin smiled, completely unfazed, gesturing at the food vaguely. "You know the rest? The meat is chicken the nice ladies told me."

Levi lowered his gaze to look at the food, really wanting to start eating but he pointed at the plate with the yellow things, just in case. "This?"

Irvin raised his eyebrows and inclined his head, looking at Levi curiously.

"Boiled potatoes, peeled. You've never had any…?" When Levi arched one eyebrow the corporal seemed to rethink his question and noticed the stupidity of it. "Let me take that back. No cooking… and they're poisonous when eaten raw." There, answered his own stupid question. Levi couldn't help but feel a little smug. He nodded and started eating, learning that the orange vegetables almost tasted a little sweet. He sunk his fork into one of the two pieces of meat and lifted it from his table, leaned forward to take a bite of the piece. The sauce was dripping off it back to the plate and somehow he already knew that this couldn't be the right way to eat this before he heard Irvin clear his throat. He shot the blond soldier a glance, Irvin held a knife out to him, smiling softly.

"It's easier if you cut it first."

Levi snatched the knife from Irvin's fingers, feeling a blush creep into his cheeks and hating himself for it. He had never been properly taught how to eat with cutlery – eating soup with a spoon had been self-explanatory and this morning's food had been eatable with a fork. He glared at Irvin, waiting for him to laugh at him again – but the blond man didn't, he showed Levi his hand's instead.

"Here, that's how you hold it. You're right-handed, right?" When presented with Levi's blank stare he just waved it off. "Nevermind, just mirror me. Knife in the right hand, fork in the left." Levi stuck with mirroring Irvin, holding knife and fork like the older man did. "Good. Now stick the fork into the meat at the edge of the piece to hold it in place and use the knife to cut off the piece containing the fork." Levi did so a little clumsily, it made sense, though - he could now put the piece of meat into his mouth without making a mess on the table – or himself if he was unlucky.

"Good. You can do another few helpful things when using both knife and fork. "

Irvin smiled and cut his own meat, using the knife to push some of the orange vegetables onto his fork to eat them together with the meat. Levi cut off another piece of meat and mirrored Irvin's action of pushing more food onto the fork which resulted in having too much food on his fork – which he realized after he had put all of it into his mouth, chewing was a little difficult.

They ate in silence, Levi was concentrating on eating neatly and watching Irvin doing just that; Irvin was busy with his food, trying to mask the fact that he was watching Levi in return. He wasn't really bothered by it, knowing that the man wasn't silently mocking him because he had never eaten with cutlery before.

Levi made short work of his food, devouring meat, vegetables and the potatoes (that tasted surprisingly mild and bland). He also downed his tea and Irvin refilled his mug for him, Levi hadn't really noticed that he had been thirsty all along.

They had started with the dessert (Levi had been informed that dessert was meant to be eaten after the actual meal) when Irvin asked him about his morning, scooping up pudding with his spoon. Levi, who had already eaten half of the pudding in his bowl, looked up at him.

"I went to the taylor, I bought clothes, shoes and… a few other things."

Irvin nodded and took a sip of his water, arching his eyebrows in question.

"Oh, Vera did have another few clothes in your size?"

Levi ate another spoon of the pudding-paste-thing, making a mental note for himself that he apparently loved vanilla – this stuff was about the best stuff he had ever tasted. He shook his head at the corporal's question.

"No. I asked her for more clothes and she told me that she didn't have any. So I told her that you told me to tell her that she had two days for making some clothes. She called you an insolent brat and told me to tell you that she hates you."

Irvin stared at him for a second, blinked and then had the audacity to laugh. Levi watched him, almost a little disappointed that he was so utterly unfazed by the fact that the woman might be a little mad at him. Cerulean eyes sparkled and he sat back on his chair, lifting his arms a little when he shrugged.

"I told you she would… but insolent brat? She really said that?" Levi nodded and Irvin chuckled. "Brat… she's not even that much older." Levi did notice that he didn't even try to rebut the 'insolent' in front of the 'brat'. "But she's doing the clothes, then?"Levi nodded again and finished his pudding, contemplating to ask for a refill. But he felt pretty full… and he vividly remembered throwing up the previous night, he really didn't want to risk being sick again.

Irvin seemed satisfied and finished his pudding, too while Levi was sipping his milk. He wasn't too fond of the taste but Irvin had told him during breakfast that it held some stuff that was important for the bones and so Levi drank it. He was curious if he would really grow a little taller now that he was stuffed with food every day.

The blond soldier leaned back on his chair and sipped his water, looking at Levi.

"I'm glad you got everything. I got you another something, too. It's in the bag I gave you earlier."

Levi frowned and set the mug down on the table, reaching for the bag instead and put his hand inside, feeling cloth and something harder. He pulled its contents out of the bag and needed a moment until he realized what it was.

"Those will be better for horseback-riding, the pants are reinforced in some places and those boots are the best things to ride in. I got them at one the Guard's garrisons, it's the smallest they had. I hope they fit."

Irvin had brought him the Military's typical dirty-white trousers of their uniform, a white shirt to wear with it and the brown boots. That was good because Levi had already dreaded the thought of having to walk around in clothes that were reeking of horse and probably filthy. He wanted to keep his new clothes clean and good – the thought of being filthy again was unbearable.

He looked at the blond man, lowering his eyes a little when he softly said, "…thank you.". It still felt awkward to mouth the words but he wanted to express that he really felt that way and so he forced himself to get them past his lips.

Irvin smiled at him and finished his water, starting to put their used dished back onto the tray while Levi took the last few sips of his milk.

"Not for that, Levi."

He finished his milk and put the mug onto the tray, helping to put all the plates and cutlery back onto it as well. When the tray was charged Irvin stood up and reached for it, addressing Levi.

"Go upstairs and get changed, I'll return the dishes. Meet me in the stable when you're ready."

He nodded and got up as well, taking the bag with him as he left the room with Irvin. They parted ways at the stairs and Levi made his way upstairs to go change.

He returned the used dishes to the kitchen and made his way to the stable afterwards, taking off his leather jacket to drape it over the side wall of Flakes's stall. He smiled when the white stallion raised his head from the hay he had been chewing on and approached the door, nudging Irvin's chest with his nose. He reached to the side and grabbed for a carrot, feeding it to the tall horse. Looking him over he could see that his fur had dried already, wet as it had been from the riding they had done to get to the lord they had gone to see in the morning.

Entering the horse's stall he patted the long, elegant neck and slipped a head-collar onto his head, leading the stallion out of the box to tether him in front of it. The horse perked up its ears and looked at Irvin curiously as if asking him 'You have already chased me through the countryside today, what do you want now?'. Irvin smiled and patted Flake's back, feeding him another carrot with the other hand.

"Poor boy, I'm really sorry to bother you again. But it's not going to be strenuous, I promise. He's the weight of a fly, don't worry."

"So you'll teach him how to ride a horse now?"

Irvin looked over his shoulder to see Mike walking up to him, hands casually in the pockets of his white pants. The man chose to lean against the boor of Flakes's stall, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking at Irvin. He smiled and draped an arm over his horse's back, stroking the white fur at the back.

"Yes. I don't think he's ever seen a horse up close, let alone been on its back before. We're going to be in the saddle for a few days and I think it's useful to get him accustomed to that."

Mike nodded, watching Irvin closely. He seemed to be on the edge of saying something but didn't and Irvin cocked his head to the side.

"Spit it out, what is it?" He knew Mike too well to be ignorant of the fact that the man wanted to say something, they had worked together long enough for him to know when something was up. Mike was as good as he was with masking his emotions but there were little things that gave them away – and the barely noticeable narrowing of his left eye (which he was sure the other wasn't even aware of) was one of those things.

Mike raised his eyebrows and reached out to pet Flakes's nose when the stallion strained his long neck to sniff him.

"What is it with this kid? Where did you get him from?"

Irvin pushed his hand underneath Flakes's thick mane, curling his fingers through the silky fur there while he answered his friend's questions. He had wanted to tell Mike about the whole thing earlier this morning but they hadn't had time for a chat so he was content that Mike had come to see him now. They were alone in the stable as far as Irvin could tell – but he wasn't telling things that were well-protected secrets so he couldn't care less.

"Found him a few nights ago and suggested he should join the military. He's really skilled and I think he's going to be an enrichment to whatever force he's going to join after the military training."

He couldn't be exactly sure about the boy's choice – but his aversion against the Military Police ruled that one out already and the Stationary Guard… Irvin doubted that Levi would like repairing walls and acting out justice in the places too far away from the Military Police to control. He was almost positive that the boy would join the Scouting Legion – but three years of training were long and could of course influence his decision. Irvin was hoping that he would join the Scouting Legion, of course. He could unfold his skills best there – if he was convinced of their cause. He knew that the decision to join the Recon Corps was a fatal one and every soldier deciding to do it because they wanted to fight for the cause of humanity had his heart-felt respect.

Mike frowned at him and poked Flakes's nose playfully.

"How is he skilled? He looks starved to death and even though I don't smell anything fishy around him… he's got a vicious aura about him."

He almost laughed about Mike's way of saying that manners where something Levi probably didn't even know how to spell (scratch that as Levi probably didn't know how to spell anything at all) and settled with smirking.

"He certainly does…" The boy was a handful – and none to underestimate, he had to remind himself. Levi was mostly civil with Irvin because he had earned it – he certainly didn't expect Levi to be the same way with others when they weren't nice to him. "I've seen him in action, you'd be surprised. I can't wait to make him run our training course at the headquarters." He was sure that Levi would outperform at least most of the other trainees if not all of them, his long-trained survival and physical skills were much more advanced than those of usual kids.

Mike nodded slowly, going back to putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"I'm looking forward to watch it. So… there's nothing behind it? No special reason for choosing this kid in particular?"

Irvin looked at him, watching his expression. Mike was looking at him with genuine interest, he knew that he couldn't fool Irvin's attentive eyes when pretending that he didn't really want to know. Mike's nose was very sensitive and he usually knew when something was up – but he was never able to read anything when it came to Irvin. He didn't smell like anything to him – that was why he had to trust on Irvin to be honest with him.

He smiled, deciding to stick to the truth as closely as he felt comfortable with.

"Not really. I just have a good feeling about him, it's an instinct-thing."

Mike looked at him for another little while and nodded, the corners of his mouth turning upwards just a little bit. He never was the type for hearty smiles and Irvin appreciated every effort.

"Your instincts never fail you so I'll go along and trust them." Irvin's smile brightened, it meant a lot to him. He knew he had Mike's unconfined trust, they had worked together very well when Mike had still been in his quad and they had learned to appreciate and respect one another. "Just remember your own words about no longer being able to differ between your soldiers – and having favourites. And you definitely need to talk to Jana."

Irvin almost winced when Mike reminded him of the fact that OH YES, he needed to talk to Jana. This was one of the two things that he disliked about leaving Hermiha – not being able to see his sister for a while was the other one.

He remembered his words. And he didn't see any reason to forget about them.

Looking at Mike he nodded, raising a hand to run his hand through the short hair the back of his neck.

"I know. I will as soon as we're back."

It was going to be a very unpleasant conversation, but it really had to be done – better sooner than later. He needed to get his point across to his fellow soldier –preferable without her making a big deal out of it.

Mike nodded, looking at Irvin almost a little sympathetically – which he really didn't need to, Irvin had chosen this fate willingly. While Mike didn't quite agree with his reasons for the choice he had made regarding partners and the like he was concerned anyway.

"Good."

Irvin mirrored his nod, at the brim of retorting something, when he caught a movement in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see Levi enter the stable, walking down the aisle towards them. Smiling he looked the boy up and down, he was wearing the pants, the shirt and the boots – the pants seemed a little loose but they would do until Levi got trousers in children-size at the military training camp. Irvin had gotten him the smallest female-size that they had at the Guard's garrison.

Levi had tucked the shirt neatly into his pants, closed all of the shirt's buttons.

"There you are. I'm happy to see they fit."

Levi nodded and threw a glance at Mike, keeping his physical distance to both men when coming to a halt. Mike straightened up and pushed away from the wood he had been leaning at, jerking his head in the garrison building's direction.

"I'll leave you, see you later." Irvin nodded and Mike was about to leave when he paused, turning to face Levi instead. "Just let me warn you, your ass is going to hurt for days."

Irvin bit back on a chuckle when the boy frowned, eying Irvin and the white horse suspiciously and then shifting his gaze back to Mike. Irvin patted Flakes on the back and detached himself from the horse, shaking his head when he looked at Levi.

"Mike's exaggerating, he's actually quite comfortable to ride. It's not that bad."

Mike waved him off, nodding his head in Levi's direction repeatedly.

"It is, you'll see."

Irvin made a tzking sound and made shooing movements with his hands in the other blonde's direction, clearly signaling Mike to take his leave.

"Don't listen to him."

Mike shrugged and finally left them but did so with a chuckle. Irvin smiled at his back for a moment before turning to Levi who was still eying Flakes a little warily. He smiled at the boy and motioned for him to come closer.

"Come here, I'll show you how to take care of him properly."

Levi came over a little hesitantly and Irvin handed him a carrot, motioning him to approach the tall horse further. The white horse turned his head and perked up his ears when he saw the carrot in Levi's hand, already craning his long neck for it and making that endearingly funny thing with his upper lip, twisting it around to reach the carrot.

"His name's Flakes… and I think he really wants to have that carrot."

Levi stepped closer, held the carrot out to him and Flakes gently took it, making short work of the vegetable. He sniffed at Levi, then, probably searching for more carrots – and Irvin was mildly surprised when he nudged him into his narrow chest, the gesture being much gentler than like he always did this to Irvin. Just as if the horse knew that he would maybe knock Levi over when he shoved him too hard. He smiled and bent down to reach for a brush.

"Pet him, I think he likes you."

Their horses never usually disliked anybody, they were trained properly and 100% loyal, carrying everybody on their backs – but of course the horses were more attached to the person riding them frequently. Flakes was very attached to Irvin, he would follow him around like a dog if he wasn't tethered or in some kind of enclosed space. Maybe because he had still been very young when he had gotten him, he had come directly from his training and Irvin was the first soldier to ride him to battle.

To see the white horse being so friendly with Levi (he was just trying to lick Levi's hand even though the boy tried to stop him) was surprising – but it was relieving as his concerns that Flakes might misbehave when sensing an inexperienced rider were narrowed down.

Irvin let Levi get a little more familiar with the horse, watched the boy pet the horse's nose and neck before handing him a brush, taking another one into his own hands.

"We'll groom him first. Putting saddle and bridle onto a dirty horse is going to cause the horse sore spots and we're to avoid that no matter what. Horses are very important for us, we need to keep them in good shape in order for them to perform like we expect them to when we're going outside – apart from us being very fond of our horses. They're our companions and sometimes help us make really narrow escapes – they deserve being well taken care of."

Levi nodded and watched Irvin start grooming the horse's fur, soon mirroring his actions. Irvin smiled and switched to the other side so they would finish faster. It was when the boy bent down to brush the stallion's legs that Irvin was reminded of the length of his hair again, Levi brushed the strands falling into his face behind his ears. Irvin made a mental note to make sure Levi got a proper haircut before he delivered him to the training camp.

He showed Levi how to clean a horse's hooves and then how to attach saddle and bridle properly. Knowing that it took a few times watching the whole process before you could do it all by yourself he was content that Levi watched him closely, probably trying to memorize where each leather strap should be attached.

When Flakes was ready Irvin held the reins out to Levi and the boy took them awkwardly, making Irvin smile when he explained how he was supposed to hold the reins when leading a horse around and that he should walk on the horse's left side.

"Okay, let's go."

He led Levi out of the stable and across the courtyard to the meadow that was enclosed by a fence. It was usually for the horses to graze upon but as the horses were all inside the stable today Irvin wanted to use the free space to make Levi practice.

Irvin opened the gate and Levi led Flakes inside, stopping then and looking at Irvin expectantly. He closed the gate and stood next to Flakes, patting his croup.

"Put the reins over his head, just see that they're not twisted." He waited for Levi to do so and smiled softly when Flakes lowered his head to make the task easier for the short boy. He reached out to pull down the stirrup, walking around Flakes to do the same with the second and returned to the horse's left side. He made Levi stand right at the saddle, pointing at the stirrup.

"Okay, you just put your left foot in there, grab the saddle and –"

The boy was on the horse's back so fast that Irvin couldn't even finish his explanation – and he hadn't used the stirrup, he had somehow climbed the horse with some graceful movements that made Irvin envy him. In military training they had been supposed to mount a horse's bare back – and Irvin had almost failed the task because he just had never gotten HOW to move his body up there with no things helping him. And he had passed just barely, somehow getting onto the poor horse's back but feeling like a flour sack doing so.

He looked up at the boy who was now towering over him by some inches, grinning at him.

"I should have expected that you didn't need any explanation for that."

The boy could also climb wardrobes – and Irvin was sure that trees, houses, brides where things that he could easily climb.

Levi looked down at him, seeming just the tiniest bit smug, and leaned forward to pat the base of Flakes' neck. Irvin took up the reins and twisted them until they made a straight line from the bit to the part where they connected with the other rein and held them out to Levi.

"Here, grab them."

Levi did so and Irvin looked at his hands, reaching for them to cover them with his own. He showed Levi where to put his fingers by guiding him with his own, feeling the other stiffen underneath his touch – and the coldness of his skin. He looked up at him and was met with Levi's blank stare, he cocked his head to the side.

"Are you cold?"

The boy shook his head und his hands twitched a little, obviously confused about the physical contact Irvin was inflicting on him. He couldn't blame him – but he was doing this for a reason. He tightened his grip on the boy's smaller hands and moved his fingers around with his own.

"There, that's how you shorten the reins. You do that when you want to go faster because shorter reins mean more control over the horse. If you don't have the reins short when the horse is running at high-speed you can't really tug on them to make the horse slow down, okay? And if you're really unlucky the horse's front legs will tangle in the loose reins and that… might end up really ugly. So just remember: The faster you want to run the shorter your reins need to be." He moved his fingers again, made the boy loosen his grip on the reins. "That's what you do when you go slower, leaving the horse more room to move its head. Believe me, they're happier like that." Keeping horses on short reins when going slow would only agitate them after a while.

He did notice that the tension slowly left the boy the longer he touched his hands, he was looking down on them with a look of concentration on his face. Irvin smiled, feeling content about the whole thing.

Irvin let go of the boy's hands and moved his right to the boy's leg instead, pushing it up until it was draped over the pad the knee lay against usually, his foot dangling down. Levi stared at him and watched him reach for the straps that attached the stirrups to the saddle.

"What are you doing?"

Irvin smiled.

"I'm shortening the straps so you can put your feet into the stirrups. They're still my length and won't be of any use for you like that."

He showed Levi how to shorten the straps und pulled his leg down when he was done, pushing his foot into the stirrup. Walking around the horse he went to do the same with the other strap, Levi raising his leg on his own this time and insisting on trying it himself.

When they were done Irvin returned to Flakes' left side, patting the horse's neck for being so patient with them. He stood at Levi's left leg and reached out to grab the area containing the Achilles tendon. Levi looked down at him and he looked up, pushing against his foot to make it poke the horse with its heel softly.

"That's what you do when you want to make the horse accelerate. You do it with both heels simultaneously. Usually our horses are well-trained and obey when you tap them lightly but sometimes… they might be a little lazy, you tap a little more urgently and repeat it if necessary."

Levi nodded and repeated the movement, apparently using both of his feet because it made Flakes take a step. Irvin moved with him and reached for the reins, pulling on them to make the horse stop, and smiled up at Levi.

"Yes, exactly like that."

The boy had just moved with the horse's movement, hadn't been thrown off-balance by it at all. Irvin noticed that with approval, it confirmed his expectations of Levi having no nameable difficulties with adjusting to the movements of a horse.

Levi readjusted himself in the saddle, looking down at Irvin.

"And how do I make the horse slow down? Just pulling at the reins that I have shortened before?"

He smiled, the boy was catching up quickly. Putting a hand onto the boy's thigh he pushed against it lightly, seeing the boy frown at him.

"You pull, yes, carefully. But you also shift your weight back, making yourself seem heavier – and you tense the muscles in your thighs, like you want to close your legs a little. The horse feels that and those things combined will do the trick."

Levi looked at him, nodding slowly and Irvin pulled his hand back, done with explaining things and touching Levi to show him how he wanted him to move his limbs.

"That sounds complicated."

Irvin laughed and took a step back, shaking his head.

"It really isn't, you just need a little while to get used to it." He made a vague gesture around himself. "Okay, I think I explained most things to you. Let's practice a little. I want you to ride around me, just make a wide circle. If you want to go more to the right you pull the right rein, same with left. Go slow at first and get used to the movement. And if you have any questions, just ask."

Levi nodded, took a deep breath and then tapped Flakes' flanks with his heels tentatively, making the horse start moving. Grabbing the reins a little shorter at Irvin's command he directed Flakes to move around Irvin in the wide circle he had requested.

It was all going very well, Levi was able to implement most of the things Irvin had explained to him and the older man was watching him, feeling a little proud. The boy sat straight on his horse's back, fully concentrating on everything Irvin told him to do and not really looking like he had never done this before. When Irvin explained that horses had three different paces that all felt differently Levi asked him if he could try the other two and Irvin didn't see any reason why he shouldn't. So he told him to make Flakes go faster and explained that he had to move up and down with the horse's steps when trotting, using the stirrups to get up in the saddle and sitting back down repeatedly. You could also stay seated when trotting but that was comfortable neither for the rider nor for the horse.

He watched in amazement that after a few jolty movements Levi got the rhythm already, moving up and down with Flakes' steps with increasing easiness. He had even thought about grabbing the reins a little shorter.

Irvin was highly pleased when the boy mastered gallop as well, both seating in the saddle and standing in the stirrups, bent over the horse's neck. Well… that was all there was that he could make the boy do, the rest was practice. So he put to tell the boy that he could slow down now – when Flakes suddenly sped up. The white horse raced along the fence, leaving the circle he had been moving in before, and his pace quickened even more. Irvin stared after him, his eyes widening. Shit. He was about to run after them but he knew that it would be pointless – he watched the galloping horse with his heart pounding hard against his chest, raking a hand through his hair nervously. He could only pray that Levi wouldn't fall off. He had never experienced Flakes kick out when somebody rode him and he really, really hoped that today wouldn't be the day that he decided to try it.

As the meadow was flat he could watch them reach the end of it and they made a loop, coming back to the front. Levi was still in the saddle and Irvin was already preparing to grab the horse's reins when he sped past – but… when the pair approached Irvin… he could see that Levi held the reins short. And he was bent low over the horse's neck. And… when he approached further, he got a look on the boy's face – there was no fear. Oh no. The boy was smiling, the wind whipping his unruly black hair around furiously. Irvin closed his eyes and heaved a relieved sigh when he realized that the boy had made Flakes run on purpose. Oh god, that might have cost him years of his life.

The two of them sped past him and made another loop, heading back to the far end of the meadow to race another round – Irvin could have sworn that he heard the boy laugh.

The white horse slowed down eventually after the second round, his cadence decreasing until he fell into trot and finally back to step, coming to a halt in front of Irvin. The white horse was breathing harshly through its nostrils and Levi was still smiling, his cheeks a little flushed from the exertion and the wind that had whipped into his face.

"That was amazing."

He sounded a little out of breath, too, and Irvin smiled, reaching out to pat Flakes' neck.

"That was scary. And dangerous." But he couldn't blame Levi, he had never said that he couldn't go faster, and he wasn't about to chide him. He was just relieved that nothing bad happened to either Flakes or Levi. The dark blue eyes were looking at him and the pale lips curled into a smirk. He took the reins into one hand and used the other to stroke the horse's sweaty neck.

"Were you afraid I would fall off?"

"Yeah. There's no cure for a broken neck.", Irvin said pleasantly.

The boy tzked and Irvin told him to march the horse for another while, that was highly needed after the crazy racing. Levi obeyed, making Flakes walk around Irvin to stay in earshot.

"Give me some credit, will you? I felt safe and I wanted to see what it is like… to just ride as fast as you could."

Irvin could comprehend where the desire had come from – his heart was still beating a little faster from the shock. He had really been worried about Levi. He smiled at the boy and left his spot on the meadow, walking over to hoist himself up to sit on the wooden fence.

"I can tell that this wasn't his top-speed. He can go faster if there're no fences around. Maybe, if we have time when we're back at the headquarters, we can go for a ride – and I can show you what the horses are really capable of."

Levi made another circle and approached Irvin, the look on his face gave away how much he was dying to do just that – race through the countryside on a horse's back, going as fast as possible. Irvin smiled at him when the boy halted the white horse next to him and reached out to pet Flake's forehead when the stallion craned his head to sniff Irvin's hands.

"And I do give you credit, Levi. That was really amazing - I wouldn't have expected you to master this as quickly as you did. I'm kind of… proud of you."He really was, so far the boy was really doing great. If he proved to be as subtle with the other things demanded from the trainees Irvin had no concern about making him enter the training even though the other kids had already been trained for several weeks. Levi would still be ahead of them – provided he was as clever with the 3D-manouever-gear as with riding a horse.

Levi stared at him, then turned his head and poked his heels into the horse's flank, making Flakes walk again and hiding the blush that was creeping onto his face – Irvin had seen it, there was no denying it. He just smiled contently.

He let Levi ride another few rounds before swinging his legs over the fence, hopping off at the other side of it. He opened the gate from outside the meadow and let Levi pass him before closing the gate and falling into step with his horse. They headed back to the courtyard and Irvin made Levi dismount the horse in front of the stable. He looked at him in surprise when Levi swung his right leg over Flakes' neck and slid from the saddle, landing on his feet gracefully. That… was very unusual – and exactly the way Irvin sometimes dismounted when he felt a little giddy, just like when they had come back from the lord earlier. Maybe Levi had seen him do it from the window? He hadn't exactly set a good example, then.

"Actually you bend forward and swing your right leg over the horse's croup and slide back to the ground then." At the boy's bored look he laughed, holding up his hands defensively. "At least I told you like you're supposed to do it, in theory."

Levi looked up at him, his gaze almost piercing.

"I've never been one to do what you're supposed to."

Irvin couldn't argue with that and he just let the matter drop. Levi grabbed for the reins and lead Flakes back into the stable, waiting for Irvin to explain what you did with a horse after having ridden it.

They left the stable a little later, Flakes put back into his stall and all the things they had used put away. The white horse had been briefly groomed again and fed carrots, some oats and a bunch of hay which he was chewing on happily when they left. Irvin had also retrieved his jacket that he had draped over the wooden wall of Flakes' stall earlier

They returned to the garrison and walked up the stairs to get back to Irvin's quarters where he stretched, thinking about how to spend the three hours they had until they would be going down to the common room to eat again. On second though… he knew how to spend some of the time.

"I think I want to clean up." He had spent an awful lot of time grooming horses today, making him probably need another bucket of water and soap desperately. Levi looked up at him, his features unreadable.

"Can I… use the tub…?, he said, his voice carefully guarded.

Irvin smiled and nodded, gesturing in the bathroom's direction.

"Of course you can, that's what it's there for. Did you figure out how it works?" The boy frowned a little and Irvin took that as a cue that the answer was 'no'. "Come with me, I'll show you quickly."

The boy followed him to the bathroom and Irvin showed him the oven below the tub. "Just put wood in and light it with a match, then you pour the water. Test the temperature until it's warm enough for you and then just close off all the openings here to quench the fire slowly.", he said, showing the boy the leverage he had to actuate to enclose the fire. "The water stays warm for a while like that but won't get hotter." The bottom of the wooden tub consisted of a specially laminated material that warmed up but never get too hot to sit on it. Irvin had no idea how it worked but he had learned to appreciate it a lot.

Levi nodded, eyes roaming the leverage again to memorize where it was before fixing on Irvin. He smiled, reaching up to undo the gear's strap on his chest.

"Just give me some minutes in here, you can have the bathroom all to yourself for as long as you want afterwards."

The boy left, closing the door behind him, and Irvin continued his business.

When he came back to his office a little later, clad in clean clothes and his hair still a little damp he found Levi sitting on the broad window sill, his legs crossed underneath him. Dark blue eyes looked up when Irvin entered and he smiled, gesturing at the door to his bedroom in invitation.

"Bathroom's free. I already lit the fire and poured some water into the tub."

Levi blinked, uncrossed his legs and hopped off the window sill, walking over to the door. He threw Irvin a quick glance and ducked his head, mumbling '…thank you…' before he disappeared into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Irvin just smiled and went to sit at his desk, reaching for one of the unfinished reports. The boy was warming up… very slowly, but he did.

He got lost in his work, there was still so much left to do until they would return to their headquarters. But he was optimistic that he wouldn't have to take anything back with him there, he still had tonight and the next night and half a day on the day that they would leave Hermiha – that time should be sufficient.

By the time Levi returned from the bathroom he had another few reports done, the pile with the unfinished ones getting smaller slowly. He smiled at Levi, they boy had changed back into the clothes Irvin had bought for him, added by a scarf that he must have gotten in the morning. He was willing to bet that Vera had suggested the dark blue scarf, it went well with the lighter blue colour of the tunic and accentuated his eyes, too.

He glanced at the clock, they still had an hour until they were going to eat – that was enough time for starting with another lesson.

Levi, his unruly hair still damp but combed neatly, came over to him in a bee-line and Irvin smiled, patted the bearing surface of the chair next to him.

"Sit down, I want to show you something."

The boy arched one of his thin eyebrows and came over, sat down on the chair next to Irvin. He pulled his legs up and crossed them, resting his bent legs against the armrests of the chair. It occurred to him that Levi only did that when they were alone, he hadn't done it downstairs in the common room.

Taking a book from his desk he held the cover turned to himself, looking at Levi. He was going about this lightly, knowing if he went about it wrong he could cause a little explosion – and he wasn't in the mood for that, the day had been surprisingly peaceful and he wanted it to remain that way.

"I apologize in advance for being biased but I need to ask this. Have you, by any chance, ever been taught how to read and write?" He thought it was highly impossible if the boy had really spent all his life living on the streets but he wanted to make sure, preventing the book he wanted to give him to appear like an insult.

Levi's face went blank and Irvin already braced himself for a snippy remark when the boy lowered his eyes, placing his hands in his lap.

"I… have been told some things. Some letters… and numbers. But not too much."

Irvin was genuinely surprised by the boy's answer and he waited for him to elaborate a little further but was almost certain that he wouldn't. He didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it… Irvin would drop it, for now. Even though he couldn't deny that he was interested in the matter… who could have taught him letters and numbers when the boy claimed to have been living alone on the streets?

He refocused his attention on the boy and held out the book to him, making Levi look up at him.

"I got you something this morning. I hope it's not too much below your capacities, I made the mistake of assuming things that I should have clarified before."

The boy hesitantly took the book from his hands and looked at it, Irvin wondered if he could read what the front page said so he went to elaborate without stating the obvious.

"It's for practicing. It's good that you know some things already, that will make it a lot easier." He had gotten him a book that children worked with in school when they learned the alphabet and writing and reading their first words. Some basic skills of that would be required in military training and he wanted to make sure that Levi attained those basics until he would start his training. He had seen some comrades struggle when he had been in training himself, some hadn't been so lucky to have parents who could afford the education Irvin had been provided with.

He reached over and opened the book, turning a few pages.

"They make you write the individual letters and give you pictures with the content's word next to it, showing you how to pronounce the words that you see pictured. You should be able to recognize letters and sounds of syllables rather quickly that way."

Levi nodded and flipped a few pages himself before looking up at Irvin, his face carefully impassive.

"Why did you get me that?"

He smiled and leaned back in his chair, bending a leg to set the ankle of his foot on the other leg's knee.

"Because you'll need to read and write to some extent in your military training. Might as well start practicing now that you still have some time."

Apparently thinking about his words for a few seconds the boy was silent, speaking up again eventually.

"Will you send me to military training right after we leave Hermiha?"

His voice was bare of emotions and the dark blue eyes looked up at Irvin, still too impassive to not being regarded as a mask he was using to hide emotions he might be feeling. Irvin placed his hands in his lap and looked at him, unable to figure out the sudden need for the mask. He had already learned that most of the emotions he openly showed were masks to hide what he was really feeling. The bored expression he was so fond of hid confusion, his rage insecurity and pain. The impassiveness hid other things he didn't want others to see. Irvin had seen him without a mask when he was riding Flakes. Not only when he had smiled and laughed because the crazy racing had made his adrenaline explode – it was when he was really concentrating, just following Irvin's instructions and doing his best to do everything right. There he had been just himself.

"We'll stay at the Scouting Legion's headquarter to rest a day or two after the journey there. I'll take you to the nearest camp, then, there happens to be one just half a day's ride away, near Trost."

The boy nodded, then turned his attention back to the book in his hands. He looked around the desk, frowning at the things littering it and apparently couldn't find what he was searching for.

"Can I have a quill?"

Irvin thought a moment and reached out, moving folders around until he found another quill just below the undermost folder. He handed the quill to the boy who took it, the frown deepening when he saw the slightly disheveled state of the quill. He arched an eyebrow at Irvin and the older man grinned a little sheepishly, moving the ink so they could both dip their quills into it.

"It's a good quill, don't judge it because of its appearance."

The boy threw him a bored stare and made a vague gesture in the general direction of his desk.

"I don't judge the quill, I judge your chaos. How do you possibly find things? Do you even know which reports you already finished?"

Sometimes the boy's open bluntness took him by surprise and he needed a moment to have his reply ready.

"It's not chaos, I do perfectly well know where my things are. There's a sophisticated system behind all this which took me years to develop." He may have exaggerated a little with that last statement.

The boy arched his thin eyebrows and looked at him, that bored expression back on his face.

"Yeah, sure. You might have mastered it but it's still chaos."

He turned his attention to the book and flipped back to the 6th page where he set to writing the letter 'A' in the lines provided for that, putting an end to their conversation. Irvin chuckled softly and got back to his own tasks.

The silence between them was a strangely comforting one, Irvin didn't mind the boy next to him at all. He usually was very uninspired by people being in his office when he tried to work but it was different with Levi. Maybe due to the fact that the boy didn't want his attention and stuck to his own work, being silent except for the scratching noise of quill on paper, but Irvin appreciated the company in a way. The boy didn't distract him, he just sometimes pushed the book into Irvin's field of vision and made him pronounce a letter that he didn't know before continuing to write said letter down.

They worked in silence until it was time for them to get downstairs to eat. Leaving their work to continue later they went downstairs to the kitchen and Irvin almost regretted bringing Levi there when the woman started fussing over the boy. They suggested giving the boy more food because 'O dear goddesses, you look starved to death!', but Irvin politely told them off, explaining that the boy was getting the special diet for a reason and that it was fine this way. To spare the boy more fussing he asked what they had prepared for the meal and they let themselves be distracted, filling things into bowls and putting it all onto a tray.

They were allowed to leave a little later, Irvin carrying another tray filled with food, most of it light food for Levi. He had asked for it insistently because he remembered the boy's reaction to eating a lot in the evening quite vividly and he didn't want a repetition of the previous night. So Levi got clear soup, vegetables, some chicken left over from lunch and a little bread. And, because the boy had nearly died from keeping himself from asking for it, another bowl of vanilla pudding. He was very fond of it, Irvin could tell.

They returned the dishes when they were finished and returned to Irvin's office to work for another little while. He noticed that the boy had an air of determination around him while he wrote his letters, he was fully concentrated and he worked efficiently, Irvin could tell. And he kind of admired his handwriting, it was very neat. He had some practice, it was visible in the way he wrote.

He called it a night another couple of hours later, knowing that he would get up very early in the morning. Rubbing his eyes he turned to the boy who was still curled up in the chair next to him, the book settled in his lap.

"You can stay up longer if you like to, you're not bound to going to bed just because I do."

The boy looked at him for a few seconds and then shook his head, blowing the page he had been writing on softly to make the ink dry faster.

"No, it's fine."

Irvin nodded and got up from his chair, leaving the report he had half finished lie open on his desk. Levi frowned a little and blew at his page another time, carefully touching the ink to see if it was safe to close the book now. It seemed to be because he did just that, closing the book and placing it neatly in a corner of the desk. He placed the quill on top of it and sat up in his chair to put the lid on the vessel that contained the black ink. Irvin watched him, thinking to himself that he had discovered a really neat person. Admirable, in a way, because he wasn't and would never be a tidy person.

They moved to the bedroom and repeated the routine of the night before, Levi went to the bathroom first while Irvin changed and when he was back, already in the clothes that he slept in, it was Irvin's turn to use the bathroom.

When he came back a little later the boy sat cross-legged on his bed, looking up at Irvin – and he remembered that he had wanted to do something which he went to do a second later. He walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a few more folded blankets, putting them on Levi's mattress. The boy frowned at him and then at the blankets.

"What are those for?"

Irvin just smiled softly and went back to his bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress.

"To cushion up the wardrobe if you intent to sleep on top of it again."

It was obvious that Levi hadn't expected that, from the way he stared at Irvin before he averted his eyes, his cheeks blushing. He didn't thank him but Irvin didn't need him to, he just blew out the candle on the nightstand and slid beneath his covers, smiling. He heard the rustling of sheets and guessed that Levi was lying down, not climbing the wardrobe yet. Maybe he wouldn't at all, Irvin would see it in the morning.

He closed his eyes but opened them a few seconds later, deciding to ask now – not because he hadn't dared to while looking at Levi but to make the boy less uncomfortable. The matter might be touchy and he already prepared for the 'Mind your own business' as a reaction to his question.

"Who taught you the letters that you know?"

The 'Mind your own business' didn't come, he was met with a few seconds of silence before he heard the hesitant voice.

"I… lived with somebody for the first few years of my life, he taught me some things… but he died long time ago."

Irvin tried to fit that piece of information into the puzzle that Levi seemed to be, he got some little pieces every day that would maybe fit together perfectly one day.

So… he had lived with a man that apparently hadn't been family for some years, at least. That explained some things, his surviving his childhood-days on the streets, for example. Irvin had already wondered how he had managed… it was hard to a teenager but nearly impossible for a child that was completely on his own. He wanted to ask the boy so many things because he was curious about it – but he didn't want to push the boy too much, knowing that the line between being concerned and being intrusive was a very thin one to walk on.

"I'm sorry." He just settled for what seemed appropriate.

He heard the rustling of sheets again, Levi shifted around in his bed. Silence enveloped the room for another little while until Levi spoke up again. The sound of his voice hadn't changed at all.

"Do you have a schedule for tomorrow?"

Whether the boy had just said anything there was regarding their previous subject or the subject was indeed a touchy one Irvin couldn't tell bur he went along, he didn't see any use in insisting on talking about it. They would spend another few days together, maybe the boy would open up a little more – Irvin certainly wouldn't force him.

Closing his eyes he relaxed underneath the covers that warmed up due to his body heat, making lying there a lot more comfortable.

"I do but you don't. Spend the day the way you want to, it's our last day here in Hermiha. You might want to do some things, go do them."

Irvin would have another meet-up with a noble in the morning and was planning to spend the afternoon with his sister.

"Just come back to eat, that's important." He didn't want the boy to buy food deliberately and stuff it into him as it would only make him sick again.

The boy just hmmed and Irvin felt sleep tug at his senses, making him turn to his side.

"Goodnight, Levi."

The boy repeated the words in a soft murmur and it didn't take Irvin long to fall asleep.

"As a matter of fact, we might need you here."

"Does the situation's urgency really call for this? We've just been through a restructuring… would it really be wise to cause a commotion yet again?"

"We're not talking about tomorrow, Dallis, but if suspicions substantiate we might need to act. And we want you to be prepared if we have to take action."

"Don't take my concerns for hesitance, I'd be honoured. I just think we should try to avoid drawing any kind of attention to us."

"I perfectly agree with you and we will keep this as close to the chest as possible."

"That's advisable, there are people who would strongly oppose any suchlike processes."

"Are you thinking about some people in particular?"

"I don't think that there're open activists around me, no. But you never know. We just need to be careful."

"There's no need to worry, it's not as if we weren't prepared for anything like this."

"That's true."

"Let's turn our attention to more enjoyable topics, then."

General agreement ran through the men sitting at the large table.

THIS CHAPTER WAS SO DAMN LONG. *suffocates slowly*

And nothing really happened…

But it was important, somehow, in some aspects.

I hope you enjoyed reading this anyway!

There will be some Levi background-information in the next chapter!

And we're getting near Irvin and Levi leaving Hermiha~ oh god, I'm really looking forward to having them at the headquarter~~ *_*

3


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